The Quidditch Nazi
by Vernicy Psyche
Summary: Hello. My name is Oliver Wood. Welcome to Quidditch practice, although I hear the twins call it Boot Camp. Fitting name, don'tcha think? You can call me the Quidditch Nazi. I promise you: you don't play my my rules, and I'll make your life a living hell.
1. Game On

**Disclaimer: Somehow, I don't think JK was watching The Sorceror's Stone movie while writing her books.**

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><p>"Listen up!" Oliver Wood yelled over the crowd of super loud hopefuls. I scoffed at the lot of them. As if they had a chance to make it on the team.<p>

"When I call your name, step forward. That means you made the team. All those who don't? Sod off because we have practice right after." There was a round of mumbling at this anouncement.

"Seeker. Potter, Harry." There was a big cheer from all of Gryffindor and I looked at Alicia and Angelina in suprise. It was really rare that a first year made it on the team. He had to be really good to impress Wood.

"Okay, beaters. Weasley, Fred. And... Weasley, George."

"YES!" I heard two people yell and smiled as the red headed twins pushed their way to the front to take their spots by Wood proudly. You have to love the twins, even though they make practice so much harder.

"Chasers. Spinnett, Alicia. Johnson, Angelina." He paused there, so I took the time to hug my friends as they started to walk up to the front. As they did, the twins also hugged both girls. Then they all turned around, smiled and gave me a thumbs up- saying 'good luck, I know you'll make it.'

"And Isabelle Morton." My mouth dropped open and the others on the team looked murderous. She just gave me a smile with a look like _'I always knew I was better than you.' _I was furious and my blood was boiling.

"Now go do something in the castle. Read a book, kiss a girl, or God forbid, DO YOUR HOMEWORK! Just don't bother us!" There were lots of grumbles and murderous looks at Wood although he didn't seem to notice.

The team just stood behind him and were looking kinda nervous. I don't blame them though. I've heard it's not pretty when I blow up. I stormed over there, not believing he didn't put me on the team.

"WHAT THE HELL, WOOD?" I yelled in his face. He sighed, but didn't turn around.

"Bell, I told everyone not on the team to clear out. That means you too." He said, looking through all his gear to make sure he had everything for practice.

"Like hell it does! I deserve to be on this team and you know it!" He stopped and turned around, looking at me.

"Look, I know you're upset and-"

"Upset? UPSET? DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A GIRL THAT'S UPSET? NO! THIS IS A GIRL THAT'S EXTREMELY PISSED OFF!" I yelled right in his face. My hands were balled in fists and I was about ready to punch him.

"Bell... Katie." He said in a small voice. I crossed my arms, waiting for his explanation. He sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry, but she scored better than you."

"I don't believe it." I said stubbornly.

"Well you should, it's true." He insisted.

"Okay then, say I buy into this crap. How is she better than me? She missed two passes! I was perfect!" I yelled. He looked into behind him, as if worrying that the others could hear me. How could they not? I was standing five feet from them!

"But... that's not what the clipboard says!" He said, grabbing for the stupid thing. I snatched it out of his hands. My eyes widened. My score was perfect even on there. Her name was right below mine. He read it wrong.

"YOU STUPID GOOD FOR NOTHING PIECE OF CRAP!" I yelled. He just rolled his eyes, and Fred was suddenly next to me.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Well apparently Oliver here can't read. See? My score is perfect, unlike hers." Oliver sighed, and ran his hand through his hair, aggrivated. Fred got this goofy grin on his face and started clapping.

"Bravo, Wood! Bravo!" Oliver looked about ready to disappear in a hole. He would deserve it too. The rest of the team crowded around us, because they heard Fred and wanted to know how I didn't make the team.

"He read it wrong!" Fred yelled to the others. They burst out laughing and then squished me in a group hug. Then George, being the gentleman he is turned around and said to Isabelle,

"See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!" She just glared at me, stomped her foot, and stormed back to the castle.

"Well now that that's settled..." Oliver trailed off. I raised my eyebrows and glared at him. I put my hand on my hip, and the others were waiting expectantly too.

"... What?" I couldn't help it. I burst out into hysterical laughter.

"After all that... he just says 'what'?" Alicia asked, outraged.

"Well what else am I supposed to say?" He said, looking irritated.

"How 'bout an apology, mate? George said. Oliver sighed.

"Okay, Bell, I'm sorry okay?" I stared at him for a minute and then nodded.

"Line up! Time for the intro." He said with lots of force. We all lined up on the sideline of the pitch and stood for what could have been inspection. He started walking back and forth in front of us. He paused in front of me, looked at me and shook his head. Then he walked past, but not before I saw the hint of a smile on his face. _Jerk._

"So, as you all know, I'm Oliver Wood and-"

"Cough, the Quidditch Nazi, cough." Said Fred in a loud voice, making us all laugh. Oliver smirked.

"You wanna play it that way, huh?" He asked us. The rest of the team looked at each other confused.

"Hello. My name is Oliver Wood. Welcome to Quidditch practice, although I hear the twins call it Boot Camp. Fitting name, don'tcha think? You can call me the Quidditch Nazi. I promise you one thing though: you don't play by my rules and I'll make your life a living hell." He said in a loud voice, looking straight as me as he said the last line. I raised my eyebrows. _A challenge, huh? Everyone _knows_ I don't back down from a challenge._

"You don't scare me." I said in a confident voice. Harry gave me a look like I was crazy.

"Oh really? Everyone! Drop and give me twenty!" He yelled. The others groaned, but got down and started doing their push ups. I just stood there, inspecting my nails.

"Bell! What are you doing?" Oliver yelled at me.

"I thought it was pretty obvious." I said in an innocent voice. Fred and George both laughed, but quickly stopped when Oliver put twenty pound weights on their backs.

"Drop. Now." He said, pointing at the ground._ I'm not a dog, stupid._ I just stood there, so he walked up, and knocked my feet out from under me, making me take a face-plant.

"COME ON BELL! QUIT SLACKING!" He yelled right in my face. Then I saw him get out a new piece of paper and put it on his clipboard. He drew a line down the middle and wrote his name at the top and one side, and my name on the other. I was on push up number ten when he finished writing the names and he smirked when he saw me watching. Making a big deal out of it, he put a tally mark on his side so it read Oliver-1 Katie-0. I narrowed my eyes at him.

_Game on, Quidditch Nazi... Game on._

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><p><strong>AN: So... just an idea that came to me. I really had fun writing it, and I hope you like it! Please _REVIEW! _:)**


	2. Of Bashing, Smashing, and Crashing

**A/N: Thank you to all those who reviewed/favorited/story alerted this story. It really makes my day. Another chapter up and running! Sorry if the ending isn't that great- I was in a rush to get it done before swim practice. Hope you like it! Don't forget to REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer: You know... I really don't like these things. I think we're forced to put them on here as a reminder of what we can never have... Life is cruel.**

**Chapter 2: Of Bashing, Smashing, and Crashing**

I woke up the next morning groaning in pain. _Stupid push-ups. Stupid weak arm muscles. Stupid Oliver. Stupid broomstick up his-_

"Hey Katie! Time for breakfast!" Called Alicia. I groaned and rolled over, pulling my pillow over my head. _Stupid friend who actually cares enough to make me eat. Stupid stomach for being hungry. _She came over and pulled the blankets off my bed. Not her smartest move ever, as I was hopelessly tangled in them. I landed on the floor with a thump.

"You do realize that it is 7 AM on a Saturday... right?" I asked grumpily, looking at my clock. She looked at me with a 'no, duh' expression. I rolled my eyes.

"That means that I want to sleep til at least the reasonable time of 12:30." I informed her. She rolled her eyes, glancing at the clock again.

"You do realize we have Quidditch practice in half an hour, right?" Asked Angelina as she walked out of the bathroom, brushing her teeth. I never got why she did that- brush her teeth before we ate breakfast. Her teeth are just going to get dirty again. I sat there looking at her with my head tilted sideways. And then her words sunk in.

"WHAT?" I jumped up real fast and started running around the room, trying to find my things. I found a pair of shorts and an old Puddlemere t-shirt that I could wear to practice, but couldn't find my socks or running shoes. I ran into the bathroom to see if I left them in there but couldn't find them.

"Bloody Wood and his stupid Quidditch quirks and hating me and trying to make my life miserable and quote 'a living-" My ranting was cut off by my best friends laughing hysterically.

"What _now_?" I practically screamed at them. They just shoved a hand mirror at me. I took it and looked at my reflection. My brown eyes were half-way ringed by purple shadows from exhaustion and my hair looked like a rabid squirrel attacked it. I glanced up at them and started laughing along with them.

"Okay, if you're done freaking out now, then we've got a clean pair of socks and your shoes. Just go brush through your hair and we'll head downstairs." I sighed and smiled at them, a silent thank you. I ran into the bathroom and looked in the mirror while contemplating how to deal with the monstrosity.

After a minute of contemplating, I came up with no ideas so I just grabbed my brush and started right in. A couple of knots, a little hair being pulled, and one ouch later I had my brown hair pulled back into a acceptable ponytail. Then I pulled on my shoes and all three of us started to head down to the Great Hall.

"Hey ladies!"

"Wait up!" We heard two people yell as we were nearing the tall doors. I smiled, knowing immediately that the only other two people crazy enough to be up now would be Fred and George. I was suprised though, to see Harry with them.

"Look what the cat dragged in." Said Alicia with a smirk. George walked up and hugged her. I looked over at Angelina, rolling my eyes, only to see that she was making out with Fred. _Lovely. _Harry was just standing there, awkwardly.

"Hey Harry! You wanna go actually eat something other than face?" I asked him. He laughed and nodded. I took a seat at the end of the Gryffindor table nearest to the doors.

"I'm Katie by the way." I said to him, while I piled toast and bacon on my plate. He put his finger up, to show he was going to reply after he finished chewing the bite of toast he had in his mouth. _Well at least he's polite._

"Harry." He said.

"Nice to meet you." I said sincerely. It wasn't just because he was the boy who lived. He honestly seemed like he would be nice. He smiled.

"I'd like to say the same, although after yesterday... I'm not so sure." I laughed.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Usually I'm really nice. As long as you're not a Quidditch Nazi with the name Oliver Wood." I said. He nodded in understanding.

"Ah, so I hear we're bashing on our dear ole captain, huh?" Asked George with a grin as suprisingly, all four of our missing party walked through the doors.

"Well have we got some stories for you!" Said Fred with a mischevious smile. The girls groaned and rolled their eyes as they piled food onto their plates.

"One time after practice-"

"Actually, brother, it was just yesterday."

"Ah, yes my mistake, yesterday, we walked into the locker room-"

"Again, I might add because this idiot here left his sock in there-"

"And we were about to burst in there laughing as loud as we were before because we found it quite funny that you could forget a sock-"

"Quite funny indeed. And right before we did, we heard a shower still on, so we stopped talking and laughing-"

"Planning on scaring the poor chap till he cried for his mummy-"

"But then, you'll never guess what we heard-"

"Never _ever_ guess what we heard!"

"The bloke was singing-"

"In the shower-"

"And believe it or not, it was the most beatiful thing I-"

"No, we-"

"Have-"

"Ever-"

"Heard." They finished together. Looking at the others, we all had dumbstruck looks on our faces, except for the twins who were grinning like maniacs. I believe that us girls were shell-shocked by the fact that the _major_ Quidditch nerd could sing. Harry, I think was scared out of his mind by the creepy one-finishing-the-other's-sentences thing that the twins do.

"Are you serious?" Alicia asked after she stopped choking on her bacon. They both nodded and I sat there, dumbstruck.

"There's _no_ way. I don't believe it." I shook my head.

"Well you should!" George grinned. I glanced at Harry, who appeared to be okay now, although he was looking at Fred suspiciously.

"We can prove it!" Fred said in their defense.

"Okay, how?" Angelina asked.

"Well as long as you don't mind giving up more of your saturday-"

"We can sneak around after practice." They said. We all nodded. _This is going to be fun._

"Speaking of practice, it starts in three minutes." Said Harry. We all jumped up while grabbing the remains of our breakfast to eat along the way.

"Wood is going to _freak_ out." Ang said in a worried voice. I smirked.

"That's kinda the point." She looked at me like I was crazy.

"He's not going to be mad at you guys. He'll be mad at me."

"Ohhh." She said in understanding. I looked up and we were almost to the pitch. I know that it shouldn't seem beautiful, but it is. The green grass mowed in a criss-cross patter, the tall hoops, the house-colored stands. It was just amazing.

"BELL!" Wood bellowed when he saw us. _Way to ruin the beauty, Wood._

"See, I was right." Angelina just stuck her tongue out at me. _Mature._ Wood stormed over to us, looking murderous.

"HOW DARE YOU MAKE THE REST OF THE TEAM LATE!" He yelled while waving that stupid clipboard around.

"Notice how you immediately assume it's my fault." I pointed out.

"BECAUSE IT IS!" He looked slightly crazed when he said this.

"Wood." I said calmly.

"WHAT?" He yelled. I pointed to the clipboard and he looked confused. I raised my eyebrows and pointed at the clipboard again. When he still didn't get it, I rolled my eyes and walked over to him.

"Give me the clipboard." I said. He gave me a look like _'yeah right' _and clutched it to his chest.

"Wood! It's not a teddy bear! Give. Me. The. Clipboard." The others laughed at the teddy bear part. He rolled his eyes and started to walk away. Before he got far though, I reached out and grabbed the back of his chirt. He stopped.

"No, Bell. You can NOT have my clipboard." I glared daggers at the back of his head. _Fine, you want to do this the hard way? Then we'll do it the hard way._ In one quick motion, I kicked the back of his knees and pushed his shoulders forward. He fell with a thud, but turned around to face me and started to get back up again. With a sudden burst of strength, I had him pinned, arms by his head, me sitting on his chest. He glared at me.

"Bell. Get. Off." He said in his 'I'm-so-much-better-than-you-so-listen-to-me" Quidditch captain voice. I almost snorted. _Yeah, like that would work._

"Fred!" I yelled, not sure how far away they were. He appeared in front of me.

"Yeees?" He asked. I nodded to the clipboard, my arms preocupied with keeping Wood down. He grabbed it, and the muggle pen out of Wood's hands.

"Is the score sheet on top?" I asked. He looked confused, and showed me the paper. He looked confused and showed me the paper. I nodded- it was the right one.

"Ohhh. I get it. Competition." He said as he marked two tallys under my name. I was confused, but then realized what they were for. Wood, on the other hand, didn't.

"What? Why two?" He asked. I decided to let him up since I had got what I wanted.

"Well... you blew up because we were a minute late- point to Katie." George said, taking his place by Fred.

"And dude... you just got pinned by a _girl_!" Fred said.

"Point to Katie." Harry, Alicia, and Angelina all said while we all burst out laughing. Wood narrowed his eyes.

"Well played, Bell. Well played." I bowed and the others applauded.

"Everyone! On the line!" Wood yelled. We all did what he said because we figured that we had done enough for today.

"Okay, agenda for today is conditioning." Wood informed us. We all groaned except for Harry who looked confused.

"For the Rookie, that means laps and extreme bludger dodging." I explained. He nodded with a grim look on his face.

"Laps, now!" Wood comanded. He took off and then we followed behind. The first ten laps were okay. The next five, bearable. The next five after that, torture. The next three laps, excruciating. The last two were plain hell. _Looks like Wood kept his promise._ By the time we were halway through the last lap, I was ready to drop dead from exhaustion.

"My muscles are crying!" George said as we came to a stop.

"It's called sweat, Weasley. Man up." Said Wood. He, unfortunately, runs faster than us and was done four laps ago. George gace him a look.

"The guy that got pinned by a chick is telling me to man up. Irony, man. I-ron-y." Wood gave him a look and George immediatly shut up, fearing more laps as punishment. Wood grabbed his broom, and we knew that was our que. I got my Cleansweep Seven out of the equipment shed.

"Okay everyone, take a couple laps. Get used to being in the air again." I pushed off the ground and felt the familiar rush of air around me. I sighed. I love flying.

"Okay, circle up everybody." Wood called form the other end of the pitch. I turned toward him and leaned down close to the handle. I shot forward and made it over there in a matter of seconds.

"So, here's how the last fifteen minutes or so of practice are gonna go. You all fly around up here, except Fred and George. They will be flying around trying to knock you off your broom with bludgers. Try not to get hit. We can't lose our first game because of practice injuries. Good luck." _Wow Wood. Blunt honesty. Nice to know you care._

I started to fly around slowly, same as the others. Wood let the bludgers out and Fred and George took off after them. I was suprised when Wood didn't come back up. He just stood there on the ground, watching us.

_WHOOSH!_ I jerked back in suprise, paying attention now. A bludger had flown right past my ear. _Focus, Katie. Focus. _I looked around to see both Weasleys hitting those bludgers as much as they could. The others were dodging fairly well. Ang almost slipped once. I looked at George and he grinned at me. _Oh, no._ I looked at Fred. He grinned at me too. _Oh, no. Oh no no no no no. _

George's came first, and it almost hit my head, but I spun in a circle around my broom and managed to avoid it. _Hey, that should be my new move._ Just as I got sat upright, Fred's came sailing at me, right for my head again. I was still slightly off balance from my spin and only managed to go up a little bit and turn to the side. _Arm injuries heal faster than head injuries._

Just as this thought crossed my mind, the bludger hit my shoulder blade. I could tell it got smashed in a little from the crack I heard. And then I couldn't think. All I could do was feel extreme pain. I felt myself losing altitude as I tried not to scream.

"OH MY GOSH! I'M SO SORRY KATIE!" Fred yelled as we all landed. He ran over to me and just kinda stood there, not sure how to help.

"It's okay Fred." I said while wincing in pain. He shook his head and just stood there.

"See she's fine. Well let's call it a day, anyways." Wood said. He put the supplies away and walked to the locker room. I just stared after him. _Typical Wood._

"Okay, we'll take you to the Hospital Wing and then you can get healed and everything will be okay, right?" Alicia asked in a high voice, talking really fast. I shook my head. It ended up moving my shoulder a bit, so I held my breath.

"Katie. You didn't hit your head too did you?" Angelina asked in a worried voice. I shook my head again.

"Well what is it?" Asked Harry.

"I still want to hear Wood sing." Fred and George smiled weakly.

"Okay." They said at the same time. Ang and Lic rolled their eyes like _'of course that's what she's worried about'. _Harry smiled. Fred put his finger over his mouth telling us to be quiet. We all followed him as he lead us to the back door of the boys locker room. It was propped open with a door stop.

At first, all we heard was a shower. But then, if you listened closely, sure enough you could hear Wood singing. And it was beautiful. When he finished, Fred must have forgot we were hiding because he started clapping. We all looked at him with wide eyes and then he realized his mistake.

The others had already run off by the time I looked back at them and Fred had a crazy look on his face. I turned around, but then he unthinkingly grabbed my arm and shoved me in the locker room. He also took out the doorstop and let the door close.

I gasped, my shoulder got twisted around when he grabbed my arm. I tried to open the door, but he must have been holding it closed. I pulled one last time on the door handle, and my feet slipped. I crashed into a row of lockers with my bad shoulder. My mouth was open in a silent scream.

"Who's there?" Wood called out, still in the shower. I held my breath and didn't answer. It was a couple seconds before I heard the water shut off. Curse you, Fred! I heard footsteps and water hitting the cold stone floor. I froze, not breathing, with eyes wide at the end of the row of lockers. I didn't hear anything after a couple of minutes, so I assumed he left. I sighed, and finally realized that I had tears streaming down my cheeks from hitting my shoulder.

I heard footsteps again and realized that I had just given myself away. I hid myself in the shadows the best I could. I saw a figure at the end of the hall. I closed my eyes and prayed to... well I don't know who to. _Whoever's out there watching, if you like me at all, please please please don't let me be found._

Well apparently the universe hates me.

"Bell?"


	3. You enjoy pain, right?

**A/N: Wow, I am so surprised about how many story alerts and favorites this story has gotten. Thank you so much! And to all of my reviewers (SunshineToMoonlight, xxjust-forgot-you-againxx, RileyAnders, TheFredWeasleyMonster, LilyLunafan622, Er-my-nee Weasley), you really do make my day. Here's another chapter! Enjoy! Don't forget to REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer: Well... this is FANfiction. I think that says something.**

**Chapter 3: You enjoy pain... Right?**

I closed my eyes tight, hoping maybe if I can't see him, then he can't see me. Or maybe just from the pain. _Crap. Crap. Crap._

"Bell?" He asked again. I thought about not replying, but then he took a step towards me. _If I was going to be found, then I would do it with my normal charm and grace._

"No." I answered. My voice sounded horrible, kinda like I had been crying- oh wait. Even from here, I could see him roll his eyes.

"Bell, what are you doing in here?" He asked, stepping closer still. I shook my head. My shoulder hurt so much right now that if I tried to answer, I would probably scream. His eyes widened as if he realized something could actually be wrong.

"What's wrong?" He asked, standing right in front of me. He looked surprised to see my tears.

"Bell... stand up." Wood said. I closed my eyes. All I could feel was pain, I didn't think I could remember how to move.

"Bell?" He asked in a slightly panicked voice. The pain started to ebb just a little bit.

"puhsumcloeson." I mumbled under my breath. It was just weird to have him standing there in just a towel. Not that he didn't look good or anything just- _Oh Merlin, Katie! It's Wood! That's just wrong!_

"What?" He asked. He sounded just slightly relieved that I had answered.

"Go put some clothes on." I said in a strained voice. His mouth dropped open when he realized all he was wearing was a towel. He turned and ran out of sight. I rubbed my temples because I was getting a headache on top of everything else. I was kinda hoping he would leave, but I head footsteps coming towards me. I shifted positions on the floor and then groaned when my shoulder hit the hinge on the locker.

"Bell, what's wrong?" Wood asked again, crouching down in front of me. He had on a Puddlemere shirt similar to the one I was wearing, along with Puddlemere shorts. Team spirit and all, I guess?

"Katie!" He yelled, shaking my shoulders. I screamed and did the most embarrassing thing I've ever done. I started bawling in front of my quidditch captain.

"Oh my God! I'm sorry Katie!" He said, realizing he did something wrong. _Duh- I was crying._ I would have hit him if it wouldn't have hurt me. I looked at my shoulder and he caught on.

"Your shoulder? From the bludger?" He asked. I could only nod.

"Okay, first you need to stand up." He instructed. I gave him a look.

"Or I could help you up." He amended. At first he reached out to give me a hand, then realized it wouldn't help. Then he reached as if to grab me by the armpits, like you would a little kid when picking them up. He seemed to decide against that because it was by my shoulder. He ended up grabbing me by the waist, kinda like a hug. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Now, we need to get a look at that shoulder- see how serious it is." I gave him a look like 'yeah right'. I don't think he was getting it. If he wanted to see my shoulder, I would have to take my shirt off. I know that he would never think of it like that was because, well, he was the Quidditch Nazi. I don't think girls have ever crossed his mind, but it would still be weird.

"Bell! Seriously, if you're hurt badly, than we need to know so we can fix it!" I was surprised that he seemed to care. But I guess he didn't want to go find another chaser with just three weeks before the first match.

"You do realize that requires me moving my shoulder, right?" I decided to point out that instead of the other shirt off part.

"It's going to come back and bite you in the butt if we don't find out how bad it is before I take you to the Hospital Wing." He pointed out. God I hated it when he was right. Madame Pomfrey would freak out if we didn't have a better cover story than 'I got hit by a bludger.'

"So, let me get this straight. You want me to endure more pain now, in front of you, so I get hurt less in the long run?" I asked incredulously. He nodded.

"So the moral of the story is you enjoy pain... Right? You are a true Nazi." I said.

"That's the only thing you got from that?" He asked. I nodded.

"Then yes, I guess that is the moral." I rolled my eyes. Right now, my shoulder still ached but it was more like a dull pain than searing agony.

"Come on, Bell." I rolled my eyes, bracing myself to move my arm.

"I'm not a little kid, you know." I pointed out. Next thing he would start tying my shoes or something.

"Well, I wouldn't be so sure. I might have to help you take your shirt off if you don't start now." I froze for a second before realizing that he wouldn't think of it that way. I rolled my eyes. I pulled my left arm out of its sleeve, and then my head out of the hole. I slipped it off my right arm, and Wood gasped.

"What?" I asked alarmed. At best, I would have a purple, black and blue bruise that would go away in about a month and a half. At worst... Well let's just say that I'll be growing new bones.

"Katie, I'm telling you this as your Captain... Never, _ever_ get hit by a bludger again." He said. I winced.

"That bad, huh?" I really, really didn't want to look at my shoulder, but Wood made it sound like I needed to. He led me over to a mirror.

"Oh. My. God." I said in a strangled voice. My shoulder didn't even resemble a body part anymore. I could hardly look at it. It was bruised beyond imagination, from the top of my arm and almost half of my back. The shoulder blade was clearly shattered, as... Well I won't go into detail but let's just say that I've seen prettier trolls than that.

"Okay, let's go." Wood said, leading me to the door. I rolled my eyes at and followed him out the door.

"You're a tough girl, Bell. Most girls would have been screaming from the second they got hit until they were done regrowing that bone." Wood informed me.

"Awww... Is it just me, or do I hear a hint of pride there, Oliver?" I used his first name, knowing he wouldn't like it. Because 'if you're on a Quidditch team you have to use last names and not be friendly to each other.' Or so he said. *Mental eye roll*

"In your dreams, Kates." He said, using the name he heard my mum call me at the train station. I glared at him and then looked around. We were about halfway to the castle.

"You're right, I totally dream about doing everything humanly possible to make you proud of me." I said sarcastically. He just half pushed me. _Maybe I do..._ I shook my head. _Of course not._

"Hey, um... I was wondering-"

"Katie! You're not dead!" Fred interrupted Wood. I smiled as he started to run towards us. I turned to Wood.

"Yeah?" I asked him. He shook his head. _Great timing, Fred_. I was cursing him under my breath when he skidded to a halt in front of us. I really wanted to know what Wood was going to say.

"Yes, Fred, I'm not dead. I am very much alive, no thanks to you." I said with a glare at him. He smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry. And not to sound like a total guy, and also not that you don't look good or anything, but why the heck don't you have a shirt on?" Fred asked. I froze. _How did I forget about that? _I coughed.

"Well, you shoved me into a boys' locker room. You know how it is." I said with a straight face. Fred looked horrified.

"KIDDING!" I yelled. He looked relieved after that.

"Had to figure out how bad the injury was?" I nodded. I looked up and we were right by the open doors leading into the entrance hall.

"Weasley, take Bell to the Hospital Wing." Wood said. I had almost forgot he was there, he hadn't said a word since Fred showed up.

"Yessir!" Fred said, saluting him. He put an arm around my waist.

"This way, Milady!" He said, leading me in the building. We had just made it up the first couple stairs when I heard someone yell at me.

"Hey, Kates!" He yelled with that stupid Scottish accent.

"What?" I yelled back, not turning around.

"Yeah, it was!" Wood yelled. I turned around, confused, but he was already racing back to the pitch.

"What was that about?" Fred asked. I shook my head.

"I have _no_ idea."

"Well, it's Wood. He's never really made sense." He said. I didn't really talk all the way to the Hospital Wing, but it was okay because the twin wouldn't stop. We pushed open the doors and Madame Pomfrey rushed out of her office.

"Oh dear, another Quidditch injury?" She asked in a motherly voice. I nodded and turned around.

"Oh... bludger. Well, I've seen worse. Take a seat." She said, pointing to the bed nearest the door. I sat down on the bed and Fred sat next to me, still talking away. Pomfrey came out with a bottle of Skele-grow and a cup. I sighed. She came and looked over me.

"Shattered scapula, two broken rib bones, major bruising." She said, listing all the things wrong.

"OH GOD! SHE'S GONNA DIE, ISN'T SHE?" Fred yelled, grabbing my hand.

"Mr. Weasley, please shut up, or leave." She said. He sat down and stopped talking.

"No internal bleeding or injury of internal organs. Just drink some of this and you should be able to play again in two days. Take it easy though." Pomfrey informed. I looked at Fred. _Crap. No Quidditch for two days? Wood is going to kill me. _I took the Skele-grow and chugged it, not wanting to taste it more than I had to. I gasped as I felt the bone going back into place.

"You're a tough one, Miss Bell. He's lucky to have you." Madame Pomfrey said before walking away.

"I give up." Fred said before walking out the doors. I laughed. Fred hates being confused.

I went to the mirror and looked again. Hey, it could have been a lot worse. And then my next dilema hit me.

I had no shirt to put on.


	4. Coward

**A/N: Hey, I'm back again! The whole two chapters in one 'weekend' thing was because I was sick on Thursday, Friday, and today so I had lots of time to write. I'm currently supposed to be doing my To Kill A Mockingbird homework but I thought I'd write some more (shh! Don't tell my mum!). Anyways, you probably don't care, so on with the story! Don't forget to REVIEW!**

**This chapter is for TheFredWeasleyMonster and LilyLunafan622. You have no idea how much it means to me that you like the story and reviewed not only once, but twice. (Lets just say that i don't get that many reviews, so thanks!) You can also thank them for this speedy update.**

**Disclaimer: is JKRowling worried about failing a final in pre-AP biology? I don't think so!**

**Chapter 4: Coward**

After sneaking through back corridors, hiding in three broom closets (you know, ones that weren't occupied. I've made that mistake before... *shudder* never again), and a stunning a prefect, I finally made it back to my room. Was I happy about stunning the prefect? No, but he was a Slytherin, so it wasn't that bad.

Angelina and Alicia were with their boyfriends right now, so I didn't have them to hang out with. Leanne wasn't here either. I sighed. I suppose I should explain why Angelina and Alicia stay with us, because after all, they are a year older than us. Leanne is the only Gryffindor girl my year that I can stand, so of course we bonded over mutual hatred of our stuck up roommates. We found out we had lots in common, and although she doesn't play, she is a fan of Quidditch and attends all the matches. Angelina and Alicia had similar problems with their roommates, so we did the logical thing- we all switched roommates. And that explains it.

Anyways, with none of them there, I couldn't talk about how Wood was almost nice to me. Usually we would all spend hours trying to analyze Wood, but that always ends with 'oh, Katie! You're perfect for each other!' theory and I always got mad and stormed off to the pitch. Then they would say that I was going there in hopes that he would be there when really I just go flying. I know they're joking of course, but that doesn't mean it doesn't annoy the crap out of me.

I looked at my shoulder again, and upon seeing that it just looked black and blue, I rolled my shoulder. It was a little stiff, and ached a little bit, but it was bearable. I slipped a shirt on and laid down on my bed.

_"Hey, um... I was wondering-"_

_"Yeah?" I asked him. He shook his head._

I couldn't help but wonder what he was going to say. Was it 'I was wondering why you were in the boys' locker room?' or 'I was wondering if you would help me lead practice?'. I scoffed, that would be stupid. Amazing, yes, but stupid nonetheless. If the girls were here, of course their answer would be 'I was wondering if you would go out with me.' As if!

_"Hey, Kates!"_

_"What?"_

_"Yeah, it was!"_

What was that supposed to mean? What was 'it'? The only thing that I could think of that 'it' could be was... Pride?

_"You're a tough girl, Bell. Most girls would have been screaming from the second they got hit until they were done regrowing that bone."_

_"Awww... Is it just me, or do I hear a hint of pride there, Oliver?"_

_"In your dreams, Kates."_

_"You're right, I totally dream about doing everything humanly possible to make you proud of me."_

I sighed, probably way over thinking things. I reflected on that last line I had said to him. I always did the best I could to get that house cup. And admittedly, it was 'for him' I guess, so he wouldn't be beating himself up about it. It's pretty scary when he does that. We're pretty sure he almost killed himself one time. I always was trying to find new tricks to try to impress him. I guess I did want him to be proud of me, proud of his chaser. And everyone knows that the Quidditch Nazi is very hard to impress.

I heard feet pounding on the stairs, and sat up immediately. That would be the girls. Strange though, their footsteps sounded heavier, more uneven than usual. I walked over and opened the door. I almost peed myself laughing at the sight before me.

"Come on ladies!"

"Just a couple more steps!" The twins said while smiling. The girls groaned and looked about ready to collapse. Yes, the twins were riding piggy back on their respective girlfriend in order to make it to our room.

"See look! Katie was nice enough to open the door for you!" George said, smiling. I rolled my eyes.

"Is there a reason that you're abusing your girlfriends?" I asked them as Angelina and Alicia collapsed on the floor just inside our door. They laughed.

"Of course! We wanted to invite you to lunch with us!" Fred said.

"And Leanne too if she was here." George added. I looked at him in disbelief.

"You tortured your girlfriends... Just to see if their best friends wanted to come eat lunch with you?" The girls on the floor nodded.

"Yeah."

"Pretty much." The twins answered. I stared at them for a minute.

"What happened to oh, I dunno, just letting Ang and Leesh come up here and ask? Or how bout the good old yelling up the stairs?" I asked them. The girls looked like they agreed by the murderous looks they were giving the twins.

"Don't worry, we already tried that, Katie." Ang said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, but they said 'no! We have the right to ask her in person too!'" Alicia said. I looked at all of them and then sighed.

"Okay, so the moral if the story is: we all meet in the Great Hall for lunch. Okay with everyone?" I asked. They all nodded.

"Hey, when were we- oh." Leanne said as she walked in the door.

"LEANNE!" The boys yelled while running over to hug her. She half hugged them back with eyes as wide as saucers.

"Would you like to come to lunch with us?" I asked her, smiling. She opened her mouth and then closed it.

"... Sure." She finally replied in a weak voice.

"Overview of what happened: Angelina and Alicia were subjected to domestic violence by Fred and George so that they could ask us to come to lunch with them." I explained.

"Oh...kaaay?" Leanne said. I smiled and shook my head. I started walking to the door. Leanne followed and then the others I was probably down about five stairs when I realized something.

"No!" I yelled, turning around, but it was too late. Fred and George had just stepped onto the top stair. I stared at them with wide eyes as I lost my footing. The stairs had turned into a slide, just as they would any other time a guy stepped on them. We slid on our butts all the way to the bottom. I stood up and turned to them, ignoring the laughter of everyone in the common room. Leanne was currently glaring daggers at the twins and the saying 'if looks could kill' ran through my head. Angelina was slapping George on the arm and Angelina punched Fred on the arm.

"What are you doing?" I said while laughing. They all looked confused.

"That was so fun!" I said, explaining myself. I was giggling hysterically and the others started laughing too.

"Bell?" Asked someone behind me. I turned, but was still laughing albeit silently because I had no air left. Wood looked at me with concern.

"You okay?" All of us were still laughing, and so I guess I would have to explain.

"Twins... Fault... Slide... Lunch... Abuse..." I said incoherently as I was laughing in between. He just nodded slowly.

"Well I'm going to run upstairs and go to lunch after that." He said, eyeing the staircase. I half waved and took a deep breath, calming myself down. I looked at the others. We all came to a silent agreement and headed out the portrait hole.

After finally making it down the the Great Hall, I was about to collapse in my claimed seat -the one right by the door- when I realized that someone else was sitting there. I was about to yell at them for taking my seat when I realized it was my Quidditch Captain. I looked at the others, shrugged my shoulders, and was about to yell at him anyways -after all, it was just Wood- when Fred grabbed my arm. He shook his head and pointed to the seat across from him. I was about to argue when he said,

"No Quidditch, remember? You need to be on his halfway good side." I rolled my eyes. I really hate it when he's right. With a sigh, I sat down across from Wood and the others followed.

"So Bell, I expect Weasley took you to the Hospital Wing?" Wood asked.

"Aye aye Capitae! You know I do occasionally do what you tell me to." Fred said giving Wood a pointed glare. Wood raised his eyebrows and Fred just started eating.

"Wait, Hospital Wing? What happened?" Asked Leanne in a worried voice.

"Well we were doing extreme bludger dodging at practice-" Leanne groaned.

"Again, Oliver?" She asked. Last time, he ended up unconscious seventy five feet in the air. He just ignored her.

"And Weasley here decided to hit one at Bell. She avoided it by rolling over her broom and it was epicly amazing." My eyes widened and I smiled.

"But at the exact same moment, the other Weasley decided to hit the other bludger at her as well." Leanne gasped and the others were listening intently. I almost laughed because Wood was quite the story teller. He made me sound like I was escaping death, not a bloody Quidditch ball.

"Well she looked like she was slightly disoriented and didn't have enough time to react." The others winced.

"Except to turn and take the hit to the shoulder instead of the head. A very brave move, saying it could have cost her that arm. She's one tough girl! She didn't even scream." The others were nodding and I looked at Fred. He jerked his head at Wood, saying 'tell him!' and I gave him my signature 'have you gone mad?' look.

"Um... Wood?" Fred said. I frantically shook my head at him. _Nononononono! Wood can't know!  
><em>  
>"Yeah?" He asked. <em>Curse you Fred! <em>

"Katie has something she wants to tell you!" He said really fast. I held back the urge to scream and throttle him when Wood asked,

"Well what is it then?" I sighed.

"Um, well when we went to the Hospital Wing... You see, my injury was pretty bad." I said. He slowly nodded.

"How bad?" He asked. _Crap._

"Well... " I trailed off.

"How bad, Bell?" He said, grabbing my arm as I stood up. I sighed and sat back down.

"Shattered scapula, major bruising... Two broken rib bones." I said in a rush. He just looked at me.

"What are you going on about? That's not that bad! It's not like you're going to die." He said reasonably.

"She still might." Fred said under his breath. _Thank you so much for boosting my self esteem.  
><em>  
>"What?" Wood said, turning to him.<p>

"Nothing!" He said quickly and then started to drink his pumpkin juice. _Coward. _

"So it's better now and you can still come to the pick up game tonight." Wood said.

"Pick up game?" I asked. _Just my luck._

"Yeah, got a bunch of Gryffindors together, we're gonna play a couple games. The actual team against the others." The others smiled and were nodding. I could just hear them thinking 'oh, it's going to be so fun!'

"We're going to meet tonight beforehand to discuss strategies. Okay? In the locker rooms at 6:00." Wood said, and then he stood up and walked out the doors.

"Isn't this great guys?" Angelina said. I shrugged and started shoveling food in my mouth. Fred was staring at me, but I was ignoring him as best as I could. They started talking about who all they thought would be on the other team and I stood up.

"Hey, I'm going back to the room." I said, grabbing my stuff.

"Here, I'll come with you." Leanne said. I smiled uneasily. We were walking in silence and she turned to me.

"Don't worry, I'll be in the stands tonight." She said with a smile.

"Thanks." I looked at my watch. 1:12. Now I had less than five hours to break it to Wood that I couldn't play. I sighed, barely registering the fact that we had made it back to the room. I flopped down on my bed. I have just dug myself into a deep, deep hole.

_You're such a coward! How could you not tell him? You're so stupid! You can't play! You could seriously injure your arm!_

_Your arm's already injured. You have people counting on you. You didn't tell him when you had the chance- take the consequences._

_What am I going to do?_


	5. The Difference Between Katie and KT

**A/N: Hey everyone! I'm back with another exciting chapter! [or at least I think it's exciting] Make sure to REVIEW and let me know what you think of the story! Sorry if you feel like shooting me. I am a horrible person. I will try to update by this weekend... hopefully.**

**Sorry if Lee seems a little too... I'm not sure what word goes here. I think that he does a pretty good job commentating, right? Just needs to watch what he says a little...**

**Disclaimer: Is JKRowling getting weird stares from a guy sitting across the room? No. Probably not.**

**Chapter 5: The Difference Between Katie and KT**

_thumpthumpthumpthump... thumpthumpthumpthump... thumpthumpthumpthump._ Yes everyone, that is the sound of my fingers tapping against my leg. I'd been doing that for a couple minutes when I was hit in the face with a pillow. I stopped, looking over at Leanne. She was intently reading her book. So it didn't make sense that she would have thrown the pillow just seconds ago, but she had to have done it. She was the only other person in the room. I looked at her again, shrugged, and resumed my tapping.

_Okay, so how to tell Wood. No, I can't tell him. He'd kill me. But you can't play._ I groaned and looked up quick enough to see Leanne throw her other pillow at me. I gaped at her. She hadn't even looked up, but had hit me with deadly accuracy.

"YES!" I yelled, jumping up, an answer to my problems found. She didn't even look up. I ran over and grabbed her book.

"Hey!" She yelled, getting up from her bed, grabbing for her book. She stopped.

"Oh no." She said, sitting down. I stared at her.

"'Oh no'... what?" I asked. She rolled her eyes.

"You've got that look on your face." My eyes narrowed in confusion.

"What look?"

"The one where you've just got an idea that is brilliant but very, _very_ stupid." She said. I smiled.

"Good, so you already know what's going on." I said.

"No. No. No. Absolutely not, Katie! I am not going to help you with whatever hare-brained scheme you've come up with!" Leanne said with finality, shaking her head.

"Do you _want_ to attend my funeral tomorrow?" I asked.

"Well no." She admitted.

"Then you're going to help me." I stared at her. She sighed and I hugged her.

"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! Okay, so you know I hurt my shoulder right?" She nodded.

"Well I'm not supposed to play for two days. So I was thinking..." I trailed off, smiling hopefully.

"Katie! What do you want me to do about it then? It's not like you can just stick me on a broom and say 'here, go play!'" She practically yelled at me.

"Silly girl! Of course I can't! You missed a step- you look nothing like me. First you have to drink some Polyjuice potion!" I said shaking her shoulders. She shook her head.

"How is it that _I'm_ always the one who ends up doing something dangerous and illegal?" She said while giving me an accusatory glare.

"Hey, I'm just the mastermind behind the plan. Someone else has to do _some_ of the work." I said while holding up my hands.

"Katie, you know I don't fly." She pointed out.

"Please, Leanne? For me?" I asked while giving her the 'puppy dog' eyes. She stared at me for a minute. With a resigned sigh, she nodded. I looked at the clock. 4:30.

"Okay, you'll go to the meeting at six. It's just going to be strategy and plays. You can be studying the playbook up till then and you'll be fine. Most of the time, Wood talks for all of it. He might take roll, so you need to be ready for that." I informed her. She nodded.

"Wait! How are you going to get Polyjuice potion?" She asked a couple minutes later. I raised one of my eyebrows at her.

"Well-"

"Nevermind! I don't wanna know!" She yelled as she went back to reading her book. I smiled, turned, and walked out of the room. _Time to go find Fred. No... George. I'm not going to get Fred into any more trouble._ After looking through several floors, various common rooms, and even yelling into the 7th floor boys' loo, I found him in the kitchen, along with Fred.

"Hey, I was wondering where you went!" George said, smiling as he was stuffing his face with double chocolate cake. It just so happens to be his pre-game ritual. I smiled, asking Winky, my favorite house elf for a slice of cake like his.

"Of course Miss Bell! Winky would be happy to help." She said with a smile. I sat down next to George.

"So have you talked to Hermione Granger yet?" He asked. I shook my head no.

"No _idea_ who that is." I said slowly, unsure of why they were asking.

"Harry's bushy haired friend?" Fred asked.

"Doesn't ring a bell- NO PUN INTENDED!" I yelled, before they could say anything. They just smirked at me.

"Don't ever say anything about house elves around her!" George said.

"Yes, it was dreadful." Fred responded. I could tell that they would start going back and forth now. _Story time!_

"We asked Ron if he had ever been to the kitchens-"

"To which he said, 'no, why would I go there'-"

"And we told him that he could ask for any type of food he wanted and they would make it for him-"

"But she was there and she like-"

"Blew up on us!"

"She was going on about some organization called... SPIT, maybe?" I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around. It was Winky with my cake. I smiled at her.

"Thanks." I said, and she grinned before rushing off, probably to clean the dishes or something. I looked at the twins, and they had continued their conversation like that interaction hadn't happend. They were probably too wrapped up in themselves to notice.

"No, brother, it was SPEW."

"Ah, yes, it was. But she was going on and on-"

"And on-"

"About how using house-elves as servants is dreadful and not giving them rights-"

"Or some crap like that."

"But if they like working, then it's not being mean or abusive or anything!" I said, half confused, and half hoping this conversation would end soon so that I could ask George for my favor.

"Exactly my point!" George said, shoving a forkful of cake in his mouth. With that bite he finished his piece of cake and stood up.

"Farewell fair maiden, brother, I must be off to prepare for our sacred duel against evil flying death machines." He said, waving, before he walked out the door. As soon as he left, I shoved the rest of my cake in my mouth and ran out after him.

"Bye!" I yelled over my shoulder at Fred. He just smiled knowingly and waved. I ran to catch up to George and fell in step with him.

"So what's up?" I asked him, thinking of a way to lead up to it. He looked at me.

"What do you want?" I paused, shocked.

"What?"

"Well, you never come to just talk to me. You always come to me when you need something." He said matter-of-factly. My mouth dropped open.

"I'm sorry! I don't mean to!"

"No, it's fine, it's just you always go to Fred when you want to talk or just hang out." He said. And now I felt like a class A jerk.

"I-"

"How can I be of service madam?" He asked with a bow. I sighed, but felt a smile on my face anyways.

"Can you possibly get me some Polyjuice Potion by before the pre-game meeting?" I asked, giving him my best 'innocent' smile. He didn't really looked shocked. He just 'stroked his invisible beard' while staring at me. I shifted uncomfortably. He shrugged his shoulders.

"How much?" He asked. I hugged him.

"Just enough for one person to last through the games." He nodded.

"Can do. Just meet me in the Entrance Hall fifteen minutes before we have to go down to the pitch okay?" He asked. I nodded. I hugged him. If there was one thing that I loved about George, it's that he doesn't ask too many questions.

"You're-"

"The best. Don't worry-I know." He said, winking at me. I smiled again. I started walking back to the dorm and he changed directions. When he was about to turn around the corner I yelled at him.

"I may go to him for advice, but you're the first person I look for when I want to have a good time." I wasn't sure if he heard me or not, but then he said softly, so softly I almost missed it,

"Thanks, Kates." I grinned and waved. I looked at the clock. 5:08. I sighed in relief. _Yes, I don't have to run._ I walked to the Entrance Hall and went through the Gryffindor supply closet. I grabbed my old Quidditch robes from in there, I would need them. Everyone has just thrown stuff in there that they don't want anymore. It really comes in handy. I dug through everything, and found an old Yankees baseball cap, a large, baggy, black sweatshirt, and jeans that I could sag so I look like a guy.

I know what you're thinking, you're a witch, just use charms and whatnot to change your appearance. No thank you. If you get the spell even just a little bit wrong, you get this funny taste in your mouth that won't go away. I'm not very good at those charms. Last time I used them, I had to grow back my eyebrow. Fun, huh?

I glanced at the clock again and it was 5:20. That still gives me plenty of time. When I finally got back to the room, I started digging through my trunk. I pulled out all of my Quidditch gear: robes, boots, chaser gloves, arm guards. I tossed them all on Leanne's bed, which she happened to be sitting on. She rolled her eyes at me.

"Put those in your bag, okay? You can't get dressed until you get to the locker room. I'll be in my old robes, so no one gets suspicious. When we get there, we'll both change. Okay?" I asked. She started putting the stuff in her bag.

"Why aren't you going to the team meeting?" She asked as if it was a resonable question. Of course it's not!

"Because! That would mess everything up!" I said, shaking my head at her.

"When are you getting the Polyjuice Potion?" She asked. I looked at my watch.

"In ten minutes."

"Well then, I can drink it then, you can already be your psuedo self, and we don't have to worry about it. I can just change there." She said. I paused. That actually makes sense.

"Okay, give me a minute." I ran to the bathroom. I put on my new pants and sweatshirt, and they both fit exactly like they were supposed to. I grabbed the hat and shoved my hair up into it. I looked at myself in the mirror, deemed myself guyish enough, but something was missing. I thought of George and how he would stroke his 'facial hair' when he was thinking. I ran to my trunk, smiling as I threw a bunch of stuff out of it. I finally found the fake mustache he had gotten me last year for my birthday. I put it on and then walked out.

"Hey Leanne!" I said, imitating a guy's voice which was much lower than mine.

"Whoa. That's... scary." She said, looking at me. I smiled.

"I got swagg or what?" She raised her eyebrows at me.

"Sure. Can we go now?" I nodded. She walked down to the common room first, to make sure no one was there, but it looked like everyone was probably down at the field already. We finally made it down to the Entrance Hall at _exactly_ 5:45. He was leaning against the wall off to the side of the doors, just like he said he would be.

"Wassup George?" I asked. He looked at me and then he looked at Leanne.

"Not much... Just waiting for Katie." He replied, looking around us. I smiled and glanced at Leanne. She looked shocked. I honestly couldn't believe that it fooled him either.

"You don't know where she is, do you Leanne?" He asked her. She glanced at me, and I just barely shook my head, but she picked up on it.

"Haven't, sorry. But I was supposed to get something for her...?" She trailed off. I nodded.

"Oh... okay, but it'd better be worth it. I got detention for that." Merlin, it took everything I had not to say anything right there. I felt so bad.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!" Leanne said, giving me a pointed look.

"No, it's actually a good thing she's not here. She'd be arguing what she owes me." I almost shrugged. It was true. Now I would have to do something a lot worse than if I revealed myself now. Leanne nodded, and then we all headed to the doors. George kept throwing questioning glances at me, but I guess it was probably because he had never seen 'me' before. We made it to the locker rooms.

"Goodbye milady. Goodbye Sir Dude." He said, and then walked into the locker rooms.

"Sir Dude?" Leanne asked. I shrugged.

"I have no idea." I answerd. She gestured for me to lead the way. I led her around back, and pulled a hair out. I grabbed the bottle from her, and dropped it in. It sort of sizzled and it smelled worse than troll dung.

"I've heard that it doesn't taste pleasant, but up... bottoms up!" I said, giving it to her. She drank it and then had the weirdest expression on her face. It was like she had tasted something rotton and sour and was mad and disgusted all at the same time. She coughed, and I stood there, transfixed as another me transformed before my eyes. It was rather weird. When it was all over, Leanne- I mean Katie, turned to me.

"So how do I look, twin?" She asked me. I looked her up and down.

"Downright sexy, man." I said sarcastically. We both laughed and she looked about ready to barf. I looked at the watch. 5:59.

"Go! Go! Go! You have one minute till Wood goes all comando and flips out on you!" I said, shoving her into the locker room. She gave me one last desperate look and I prayed that she would be okay.

With that plea, I decided to go up to the stands and see who all was there. It was quite a turn out, too bad I wouldn't be playing. I sat alone, at the top of the Slytherin bleachers, because a) no one was there and b) I didn't want to be seen by anyone. Perfect combination right there. If there was one thing that suprised me most, it's that the twins' friend Lee Jordan would be doing the commentary tonight. I shrugged, it would at least provide entertainment.

"Welcome everyone to the pick up Gryffindor Quidditch games!" Lee said over the loudspeaker. He paused, and there was some cheering from the crowd.

"On one end of the field, we have the lean, the mean, the not-so-clean, pick up team. Captain and Seeker Joeseph Branchall is hoping to lead this team to victory. Word of advice for you- GOOD LUCK! You'll need it. With Chasers Robin McCormac, Hunter Trakiavich, and Aiden Youngsworth, he's obviously hoping that someone will take sympathy on them. The beaters don't look too bad, except for the fact that the only thing that they've hit in their life is a remote control. Ladies and Gents please welcome Yasmine Jajumee and Owen Brooks. Branchall might have actually done something right with this piece-o-crap team with the Seeker- Isabelle Morton." I was literally laughing my head off at this introduction. The team looked postively furious, but that made my day.

"Too bad his poorly put together rag tag merry bunch of misfits has no chance against the team that makes us proud to be Gryffindors. Everybody welcome... THE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM! They're sure to win with excellent Captain and Keeper Oliver Wood, the Quidditch Nazi himself. He was definitely thinking when he put the mischevious missing-their-marbles magicians together on the Beater team. Everyone, my best friends, Fred and George Weasley! And my, my what do we have here? Who is that playing seeker? Why this guy needs no introduction- Harry Potter! And of course, last but certainly not least, the Chaser Chicks! These lovely ladies are the daring Angelina Johnson, the extravagant Alicia Spinnett, and hmmm, who is this last beautiful babe? Oh yeah, that's right, the marvelous Katie Bell. Love ya Kates!" He said, making a kissy face at me-Leanne. At first I wondered what she would do, but she really channelled her inner Katie, because she winked at him, just like I would have. I was so proud of her. Except it was exceptionally weird to watch myself wink at someone else.

Madam Hooch stepped onto the field, giving her regular 'play by the rules' talk.

"The snitch is released. The bludgers... Hooch picked up the quaffle... AND THE GAME BEGINS." I watch with rapt attention as this game moves lightning fast, I tuned out Lee for this part because he couldn't keep up very well. I watched all the plays that I had been a part of actually take place on the field, and I must admit, it was pretty amazing, what our team could do. All of our plays were perfect except for Leanne being just a second behind. With these plays, it didn't really matter though. They did the Turtle, the Mushroom, the Apple Turnover (blame Fred for that name), but I was most shocked of all when they tried out our secret play, the Castle.

I watched as McCormac took a shot at Wood, an easy block. I smiled when he fumbled it a little bit. Fred and George both came back and flanked his sides, and the girls all went back and hovered in front of a goal. Sure, they couldn't use their hands, but if necessary, they could block it. The key thing about this play though is that Wood has to get the signal from Harry that Harry found the snitch. Then we can make an epic parade about how awesome we are down by the hoops and hopefully distract the other Seeker with something they've never seen before, and let Harry catch the snitch. It was truly amazing to see the play work out when I had thought of the origanal idea. At first Wood thought it was too crazy, too out there. But then he realized that was just what we needed.

The only thing though was that the transition needed to be less smooth. It needed to draw attention to Wood when he's flying down the field, the unthinkable thing as the keeper. I looked up just in time to see Harry catch the snitch. It was close, Morton wasn't as distracted as we thought the players would be. All the players started to fly down to the ground. I ran out of the stands to try to get to Leanne. She was amazing for never having played before. I got trapped in the crowd as I got nearer to the team. I stood on my tip toes, but still couldn't see her. I decided that I'd go wait by the locker room, because Wood always goes back there after the game to give a post game-talk. Unless we lose. Then we all get out of there as soon as we can.

"KATIE!" Someone yelled. I looked up from my spot on the bench outside the locker rooms. I stood up and ran to give her a hug.

"You were amazing." I whispered. She nodded, and I knew she meant thanks. I looked up at the others, who were all staring at me.

"What?" I asked in my guy voice. Wood shook his head, motioning everyone in the locker rooms. I was going to stay put, but he told me to go in too. I sat down gingerly on the edge of a bench, Leanne perched next to me. I was nervous. Not that I would _ever_ tell anyone that, but still.

"So uh... Katie. Who is this?" Wood asked, pointing towards me. Most of the time, he is just expressionless, but now I thought I saw... something. It was like he could tell, because just as I was looking closer, he went stoic. I could tell the rest of the team were on their guard.

"My... boyfriend." Leanne said quickly. Wood nodded. I saw Fred and George relax.

"What's your name again?" George asked, as if he suddenly didn't remember my name from earlier.

"Yeah, didn't Katie just say it was Katie?" Angelina asked. I nodded, thinking quickly.

"Of course she did. Yeah my name's Katie. You know... spelled K-T." I explained.

"What's it stand for?" Asked Harry. I was starting to get _really_ nervous by the interrogation. _Did they know something? What gave us away?_

"Kristofer Thomas." I said, saying the first thing that popped into my head. _What the hey, why not?_

"Oh."

"Okay." Fred and Alicia said, dismissing it. I was hoping that maybe I'd be lucky and they'd leave it at that. But let's establish this again: The universe hates me.

"What did you think of the game?" Wood asked. I shrugged my shoulders, thinking about whether knowing Quidditch would be good in this situation or not. I decided it was.

"Those plays were awesome! They way you guys weave in and out of each other was truly incredible. And like, you knew exactly where to throw the pass and your teammate was there, man! It was just amazing. On the castle play, you need to make a bigger distraction because Morton was right behind Harry. But other than that, it was truly, epically, marvelously amazing." I finished, wondering if maybe I could actually do this.

I looked up at Wood and he nodded at the guys. In a flurry of motion, everyone whipped their wands out except me and Leanne, me in shock, Leanne because her arms were being held behind her by the twins.

"Tell me who you are _now_ before I hex your little friend here till she can't feel it any more." Wood said in a scary voice. I was still frozen in shock.

"No?" He asked, pointing his wand at Leanne. She squeaked.

"NO! DON'T HURT HER!" I yelled. I couldn't _believe_ I was stupid enough to bring Leanne into this. I looked at George, and he let go of her, realizing what happened. He looked at Fred for a moment, and he let go too. They claim that they don't have twin telepathy, but I'm not ruling out this possibility yet. Fred knew now too.

"Wood stop." Angelina said, obviously seeing it was me, from the hair falling out of the cap. I ripped off the hat and the mustache and Wood looked dumbstruck. Harry just took one look at all of this happening and did the reasonable thing- he left.

"Katie?" Alicia asked, looking hurt. I nodded.

"Do you want me to explain now or later?" I asked, almost in tears. I felt horrible, I had lied to my friends, put one in possible danger, and now Oliver is going to hate even more for forever now.

"It's okay Katie. Just tell us later." She said, grabbing Angelina by the arm and pulling her away. Thank Merlin she understood. She knew that it would take a lot for me to lie to them and she could probably see that I was about to cry too. That's how bad she knew it was. I had only ever cried in front of people twice0, and that was at my grandma's funeral and just yesterday. Leanne sniffed, and I turned back to look at her. I smiled.

"You're you again." I told her. She nodded, hugged me, and then followed the girls. Only Fred, George, me, and Oliver were left.

"Why?" Oliver asked in a hoarse voice.

"Why'd you do it?" Fred and George came and both stood by my sides. Fred put his arm around my shoulder, George put his around my waist. I smiled weakly, a silent thanks for their support.

"Honestly? Because I was afraid. I was afraid of what you would do when you found out that I wasn't supposed to play for two days because of my arm injury. I didn't tell you because I thought you would hate me, and get all mad. Fred tried to tell you at breakfast. I stopped him. He didn't do anything wrong. George got me the Polyjuice Potion without knowing why. He didn't do anything wrong. I am the only one at fault here. I'll take the consequences." I said. To my horror, I felt a tear slip down my cheek. And another, and another. I had felt both arms around me grip a little tighter. And then they left me there with just Wood. They probably realized that I can fight my own battles. Wood just kept staring at me with an unreadable expression.

"I'm sorry I decieved you. I'm sorry I shared the plays with an outsider. I'm sorry that you have to find a new chaser now and that I caused this whole ordeal. So thanks for being a great Captain and I'm sorry that I just ruined the team... Bye." I said, turning away, not even trying to stop the tears as I took a step towards the door.

"Bell."


	6. Girl Talk

**A/N: Sorry! I know, I'm a horrible person for leaving you with such a bad cliffhanger and I deserve to die. But I'm updating now! Just a day later! I'm sorry if the last chapter was confusing or put together weirdly- I felt bad because I hadn't updated in over a week so I wrote that all last night at like 11. I feel like I'm spending too much time on Fred and Oliver's relationships with Katie, so that's why I put George in last time. Also, you may hate me even more this time, but I promise next chapter will be better! Promise!**

**Disclaimer: No, I won't admit it! JKJKJK! It belongs to her.**

**Chapter 6: Girl Talk**

I paused, not turning around. Suddenly the door looked interesting. You know, who _doesn't _like watching paint peel?

"Don't do it again." He said. I nodded, and then ran out. I went and sat by my tree, right by the lake. I put my head in my hands, not wanting to look at the beautiful sunset. _God, I'm so stupid. I can't believe I did that. He's probably pissed at me. He's never going to talk to me again._

"Katie?" I heard someone say. I sniffed, not realizing before I was crying.

"Hi, Ange." She sat down next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. Someone else came by my other side, and I knew it was Alicia.

"Come on, girlie. Let's go inside." Alicia said, pulling my arm. Ange stood up too, both of them grabbing one of my hands. I didn't say anything, but still, they hooked their arms through mine, and led me to our room. I plopped down on my bed, and sat there, unmoving. I couldn't bring myself to take my shoes off, let alone care that I still had them on. I heard some water running in the bathroom, and half wondered what they were doing. Leesh came back out with a mug. She put it in my hands. I looked at it. Hot chocolate with three marshmallows, whipped cream, and caramel.

"It's not winter." I said, looking at her. She shrugged, and sat down gingerly on the edge of my bed.

"It's your favorite though."

"And we thought you could do with something good right now." Ange added. She sat down next to me too, and hugged one of my pillows. We sat in silence for a couple minutes, me sipping my hot cocoa. I sighed, and both heads snapped around to look at me instead of the space they had been vacantly staring at.

"Let's get this over with." I said, setting the mug down on my nightstand. They glanced at each other and then at me.

"Well... what happened?" Ange asked. I grabbed the pillow that I was leaning on, and hugged it, leaning on the headboard.

"My shoulder injury. I wasn't supposed to play for two days. I was scared to tell Wood. Fred knew I wasn't supposed to play, but I made him not say anything. I thought I could handle it. Then Leanne hit me with a pillow while she was reading and I thought she could sub in for me. So I asked George to get me some Polyjuice Potion so she could sub in for me. He didn't know what it was for, and I asked him because I didn't want to get Fred into anymore trouble. Leanne did amazing and I went to tell her so and well... you know what happened after that. Then you guys, Fred, and George leftI told Wood I was sorry and he said, 'don't do it again.' I ran out after that. And then you guys found me, and he's... he's gonna hate me forever." I said all at once.

"So... George knew? And he didn't tell me?" Alicia said, looking upset, and a little mad.

"Leesh, he did it for me. If you want to be mad, be mad at me." I said, hoping she wouldn't be.

"It doesn't matter that he wasn't supposed to. I don't care that he did something for his friend. I'm mad about the fact that I asked where you were and if you were okay, and he didn't say anything was wrong!" She said, shaking her head. She looked at Ange.

"What, you aren't mad that your boyfriend didn't tell you anything?" She said accusingly. Ange shifted uncomfortably.

"Well... Fred told me that something might happen involving Katie." She admitted. Leesh froze. I needed to think of how to steer this conversation away from this topic. The only thing that would come of this is a break up, and no one needs that right now.

"Why do you think Wood didn't kick me off the team?" I blurted out, secretly patting myself on the back. I could tell Alicia was still upset, but she didn't look mad at the disruption. Ange rolled her eyes.

"Isn't it obvious?" She asked me incrediously. I shook my head.

"He likes you Katie!" Leesh put in. I stared at her.

"No, he doesn't. He just doesn't want to find another chaser." I said. I couldn't really tell what the feeling was- I didn't feel good. My stomach hurt and I felt kinda sad. I shook my head. What the heck?

"He likes you! We've just got to make him realize it!" Leesh said, jumping up. _What can we really do about it now? It was 10 minutes to curfew. I guess she was just excited._

"Yeah! We've just got to make him realize that there is actually more to life than Quidditch." Ange said, like it was simple.

"So you're... just going to take _Quidditch _away from the _Quidditch Nazi_?" I asked. They nodded, and had that look. The look that meant that tomorrow I would be subjected to something girly and in their definition 'fun.' I blinked, and then got up and walked out of the room. I was feeling slightly better after our girl talk, and wanted to find the guys. I stopped halfway down the stairs, realizing he might be down there. But I was a Gryffindor, and we weren't known for our courage for nothing.

I looked around and saw only two people in the room- the twins. They were sitting on the couch closest to the fire, and were talking in low voices. I heard feet on the stairs, and realized the girls were following. That was fine. I walked over and plopped on the couch right between the guys.

"Your life is really gonna be hell now, you know that right?" George asked. I nodded. Sadly, I did.

"I bet he's not even going to talk to you." Fred said. I looked at him, and then at the girls as they sat down quietly on the couch across from us.

"And make himself miserable, as well as you." George put in. I rolled my eyes. _Of course, they were in on it too._

"He doesn't like me!" I yelled. All four of them just rolled their eyes.

"Oh, Katie, when will you learn?" Ange asked, smiling. We all started laughing, except Alicia, who looked kinda out of it. She was staring at George. I thought I heard someone coming through the portrait hole, but didn't feel like looking behind me. It was probably just some first year coming back from being lost.

"Only when dear Ollie pops the question, huh?" Fred asked, joking. George jumped up from beside me and kneeled in front of me.

"Oh, Kates, you made me realize that quaffles, bludgers, and snitches aren't the only things that matter in life. Will you-" He broke off abrubtly, standing up and looking wide eyed behind me. My head whipped around, and of course he had to be there. Wood stared at me for a second before continuing up the boys' stairs to his room.

"See? I told you so." Fred said quietly, breaking the silence. I didn't glare at him though, like I would have most times. I was staring at the spot where Wood had been. My chest hurt.

"Well as sweet as that was, I have something I need to say." Leesh said, looking at George. I shook my head. _No, don't do it!_

"George, I don't see how I can trust you. You didn't tell me anything about Katie when I asked, and I don't think I can have a relationship when I'm not told the truth. I'm sorry." She said, and I saw a tear run down her cheek. Ange got up, and started leading her to the stairs. George was frozen, I don't think he was even breathing. Ange glanced back over her shoulder and mouthed 'I'll talk to you later' at us. Fred and I nodded.

"George?" I asked, looking at his face. He was staring into space, not even looking at me.

"Georgie?" Fred asked, looking scared. I put my hand on George's cheek and his eyes flashed to me. At first they were blank, and then they were welling up with emotion. Then he did something that I would never forget. He cried for the first time in front of me. The tears were slipping down his cheeks and he looked like he didn't know up from down, he was so confused. I hugged him, and he dropped his head on my shoulder. Fred came and hugged him from behind, making a George sandwhich.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I told her not to be mad. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I'm so sorry." I whispered quietly. I couldn't believe that someone else had to have a bad day too. I'd rather I did all the suffering.

I don't know how long it would take for Alicia to change her mind. I don't know how to fix it. I don't know how long we stood there, because after all, who know's how long it takes to heal a broken heart.


	7. Living

**A/N: *Hides behind chair* I know, I'm horrible. I'm sorry. Thanks so much to my reviewers for letting me know that you think I really need to be nicer to my characters :P or something along the lines of that. Don't forget to **_**REVIEW!**_

**TheFredWeasleyMonster: I will be fixing it... and soon. Not this chapter and probably not the next one but soon. Promise.**

**LilyLunafan622: Yes, we will see a little of the inner workings of Wood today (in a way), and more later too. And also, I've been thinking that maybe when I finish this story, that I write it from Oliver's view too? Yes? No? Maybe?**

**Darke Wispers: The point of 'breaking your heart' now is so that it can be all nice and good by Christmas! Or just slightly after- not sure if I'm posting on Christmas. Yes, I will listen, but only because you logged on just for me. Only for that reason, okay? :P**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: Does JKRowling update this fast with her books? No. Why is that? Because they're actual books. Duh.<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 7: Living<strong>

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><p>I woke up the next morning and everything was perfectly fine. Or for a second anyways, before I remembered what happened yesterday. I groaned, and got up. I heard someone walk out of the bathroom.<p>

"Oh, good, you're up Katie. I was just coming to wake you up." Alicia said. I gave her a look.

"You're stupid." I stated. She looked confused.

"But Katie... I wake you up every day."

"We both know that's not what I'm talking about." I said, grabbing a pair of shorts and a cut-off t-shirt.

"But-"

"Where's Leanne and Ange?" I asked, not really feeling like talking about it if she was going to argue.

"Leanne went down to breakfast already. Ange went to go help Fred so they could get... to get ready today." She said. When she was about to say George's name, she looked torn between extreme sadness and regret and just a little anger.

"It's okay to say his name, you know." I said, putting my hand on her shoulder.

"Not if I don't want to fall apart. I was being stupid and irrational and I was so dumb for breaking up with him just like that. I miss him. Already. But he probably hates me now, and would never want me back, so I've just got to suck it up and live with it. I made a mistake, the worst mistake of my _life_, and now it's time to live with the consequences." She said. Strangely, that last line sounded familiar. _I wonder if I sounded like that too... I can't believe I didn't just say something._

"Well at least you came to the conclusion you were being stupid." I said. She opened her mouth to protest, but I cut it again.

"And you may think he hates you now, but you should know, it's far from that. Now, I am going to go enjoy my Sunday breakfast. Would you care to join me? After I brush my hair?" I amended. I'm sure my hair looks horrible.

"Not if you're sitting with him." She said, looking heartbroken. _Stubborn girl!_

"He's my friend. So, yeah, I'm sitting with him." I said. She paused, and I stared at her, waiting for her reaction. She sighed.

"I'm just going to go eat in the kitchens. Get a head start on studying, you know?" She asked half-heartedly. I nodded.

"If that's what you want." I said. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded. She walked out the door and I sighed. _Time to go tell George_. I walked down the girls' stairs, and walked up the boys' stairs and found their door. I heard a bunch of noise coming from in the room, so I knocked. No one heard me, so I knocked again. And again. After three, I just opened the door.

"Hey guys, ready... What are you _doing_?" I asked. I had walked in the door to see a flustered Angelina pulling a shirt over George's head, and a red-faced Fred pulling shoes on George's feet. Fred stood up and looked at me.

"He didn't want to get out of bed! He just wanted to lay there and mope around! So, being the good friends that we are, we clothed him and are sending him with you to go to breakfast." Fred said. I rolled my eyes as Ange huffed, and they both left the room.

"Great Hall. She's in the kitchens." I called after them.

"Okay!" I heard them yell back. I looked at George, and he still sat there, unmoving.

"Come here." I said, grabbing his arm, trying to pull him to the bathroom so we could wash of his face. There were still tear tracks on it. But it didn't work because he didn't budge. I glared at him, then decided to go get a washcloth instead. I put it in his hand, but he still didn't move. I sighed, and then proceeded to wash his face. When I was done, I smacked him in the face with the towel. Still nothing. I sat down next to him, taking his hand.

"How are you?" I asked him.

"Living." He relplied in a monotone.

"She admitted she was stupid and wrong for doing it, you know. And that it was the worst mistake of her life. She won't do anything to get you back though, because she thinks you hate her now." I said, not really expecting a reaction, but hoping just the same.

"What if I do hate her? What if she was the worst mistake I ever made? What then?" He asked, squeezing my hand. I tried not to look relieved.

"You don't though. I can see it in your eyes. And plus, what guy acts like a zombie over some girl he supposedly _hates_? The only mistake you made with her was being friends with me, and somehow, if you weren't friends with me, I'm sure that would have happened sooner. She just needs some time to cool down, and realize that she still loves you." I said.

"_Loves_ me? She _loves_ me?" He asked, hope lighting up his face. I nodded.

"She hasn't admitted it yet, but I'm sure she will." I said, positive about it. He nodded.

"Okay, so breakfast?" He asked. I couldn't help but smile. Of course he would want the food first. I nodded, and he held out his arm. I took it and we walked down to the common room together.

"Isn't today just lovely?" He asked sacastically. I laughed.

"Yeah, after you get past all the heartbreak, crying, and unhappy friends, it's just peachy." I said. He smirked. My day got even better when Oli- Wo- _he_ wasn't down in the common room. Or in the Great Hall either. We sat down across from Angelina and Fred. Leanne was sitting with some of her Ravenclaw friends. Both of their mouths dropped open, and bacon literally spewed from Fred's mouth.

"Close your mouth there, Bro. I'm pretty sure the bacon won't taste good with flies." George said. I laughed, but the other two still sat there dumbstruck.

"But how... what... why... what... when... what... where... what... Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" Fred asked, pointing a finger accusingly. I laughed. He turned to me.

"You were supposed to get him down here! How come you have his look alike?" He asked, looking slightly crazy. Ange still hadn't said anything.

"Who says I'm a look alike?" George asked with a smile.

"Because my brother was lifeless and sitting on a bed like a lump!" Fred yelled. There weren't enough people down here to cause a scene, but people were starting to look.

"Fred, calm down." I said, looking around. He took a deep breath.

"Okay. Explain." He said, putting his fork down.

"Well... I just told him about some research I did." I said. It wasn't exactly a lie.

"Really?" Asked Ange. I nodded and glanced at George, and he was eating like there was no tomorrow. She shook her head.

"I just don't get it." She stated. Fred blinked a couple times.

"Well it's your job to watch him today, okay?" He said. I nodded.

"Sure, but why does he need a babysitter?" I asked.

"Because if he goes comatose again, we need someone to snap him out of it." He said. I shrugged.

"Okay." Truth is, I was going to stay with him all day anyways. I may not know that much about tough break-ups, but I did know about needing someone there. The other two got up and left. I didn't ask where they were going, because it really didn't matter.

"So what are our plans for today, master?" George asked. I smiled.

"Well if you didn't have anything else planned, I was thinking we should go swimming in the Lake." I said. It was really nice out today, and I hadn't been swimming in forever.

"To the Black Lake it is then!" He yelled, striking a 'heroic' pose. I laughed.

"To our rooms first." I said.

"To our rooms first!" He yelled. Laughing, we made our way back to the seventh floor and to the Fat Lady.

"Password?" She said.

"Fortuna Major." George and I said at the same time. We high fived, and ran to our separate rooms. I know the others said not to leave him alone, but I knew he wouldn't be going back anytime soon. I changed into my only swim suit, a blue and white polka dot bikini, and threw on my clothes again. I grabbed a towel, and slipped on my flip flops. Just as I was walking down the stairs, I almost ran into Alicia.

"Don't go to the lake." I told her. She nodded, and I hugged her fast.

"It's gonna be okay." I said. She nodded, slower this time, and I walked past her. I waited for a minute, and then George came running down the stairs. _Thank Merlin. _If he had been here sooner, he would have seen her and then... well, I don't know what would happen.

"Two of my friends might come out later." George said. I nodded, smiling. His friends were funny and weird, especially Lee.

"Oh, and I have a better way than walking to get there." He said. He walked over to the balcony doors, which were open because it was a nice day. He pulled out two brooms from behind the curtains on either side of the doors. They were older versions of the Cleansweep, but they would work for what we needed. We both walked out on the balcony and mounted our brooms. We pushed off, and then made out way to the Lake at a leisurely pace. We were flying side by side, and I was just taking in the day's beauty when George said something. I nodded, not really hearing him.

"Really?" He asked. My head snapped towards him.

"Wait what?" I asked, scared slightly by the mischevious grin on his face.

"Oh nothing..." He trailed off. I stared at him for a second, shrugged, and looked down at the water, approximately twenty feet below us. I was about to say something when I felt something run into me. I started to tilt sideways, and I grasped frantically at the broom, trying to get a good grip. But I couldn't find one, and I started falling to the water below. I expected someone to try and catch me, but no, I fell right in. The water was cool, but not freezing, and it felt amazing. I kicked my feet, and slowly I resurfaced. I was about to start cursing at whatever hit me when-

"CANNONBALL!" And something dropped in the water next to me. I screamed, and paddled away from the spot. George popped up out of the waves and bubbles with a grin on his face. I wanted to yell at him, but couldn't help smiling.

"GEORGE FABIAN WEASLEY!" I screamed, while trying to stay afloat. My clothes were soaked, and heavier in the water.

"KATHERINE MARIE BELL!" He yelled back. I smiled, shaking my head, and swam to the shore. I got out and stripped, hanging my shirt and shorts up on my tree. I tossed my flip flops over there too. George got out, grinning, and put his shirt up next to mine.

"Lookin' good, Bell!" Someone yelled from behind us. I turned, and Lee was standing there waggling his eyebrows.

"Hi, Lee." I said, waving.

"Who's the other friend that might come?" I asked George. He shifted. _No..._

"You didn't." I said in disbelief. He smiled innocently, or as innocently as he could, while inching away from me. I glared at him.

"You're overreacting. He might not even come. I just invited him." He said, and then turned around, running away.

"George!" I yelled, starting to run after him. I heard a splash somewhere behind me and assumed that Lee had gotten in the water. George spun around all of a sudden, and picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder.

"GEORGE!" I yelled, pounding his back with my fists. He just laughed. He started to go out in the water.

"PUT ME DOWN!" I yelled. He smirked.

"Gladly." He threw me out farther in the Lake. My head popped up again and I tried glaring, but ended up smiling, and laughing. I swam out further.

"Lee! You should help me!" I yelled at me. He smiled, and pretended to think about it.

"I'm coming my fair maiden!" George yelled. Lee looked at him and yelled,

"No, man! I'm helping her!" I laughed as they started going back and forth, racing out to 'save' me.

"You guys are such dorks!" I yelled at them. They both paused.

"We know!" They yelled back at the same time. I laughed. After they got to me, we all headed back to the shore. We started drying off and Lee turned to me.

"So I hear you had quite the day yesterday." He said. I looked at him.

"Understatement of the _year_." I said.

"What did Wood do about it?" He asked.

"Yeah! I never heard about that either." George said. I sat down, and the others followed.

"That's just it. He didn't do anything. Just said 'don't do it again.' I wasn't kicked off the team or punished or anything. I don't get it." I said.

"He probably didn't want to upset the team by getting a new chaser." Lee said. _Thank you!_

"Someone else with my philosophy!" I said, high-fiving him.

"He also happens to be attached to this chaser." George said. Lee nodded. I glared at him.

"Why does everyone always say that he likes me? He doesn't!" I yelled. They rolled their eyes.

"Okay, fine he hasn't admitted it yet." Lee said.

"But he did come talk to me this morning. That's why I invited him. Told him we'd be out here all day." George said. I looked at him.

"What did he talk to you about?" I asked, curious.

"He asked if I had known anything about what you had planned. I said, 'you really expect her to get Polyjuice Potion on her own?' He looked at me and just said 'I wish you hadn't done that.' But he asked about you. If you were okay." He told me. I looked at him in suprise. I decided to let the subject drop.

"What about you? What are you going to do about Alicia?" I asked him. He looked down, playing with the sand at his feet. Lee looked at me.

"What happened with Leesh?" He asked. I looked at him.

"I mean, I kinda wondered why we were hanging out with you today instead of her, but I didn't really think about it." He added. I sighed.

"She broke up with him last night." Lee's eyes widened. He looked at the ground too.

"You know what I'm gonna do, Katie? Live. I figure that when life gets tough, you're still breathing, still alive. But you really just gotta keep living life like you would any other day." George said. I nodded. It was wise advice. Not exactly what I meant, but wise all the same.

We decided to go to the kitchens for lunch, and then back out to the lake, spending all day there, like George said. We swam, we built sandcastles, we talked we fought, we played 'rescue me' again, and then decided to watch the sunset. We all sat, leaning again the tree, watching the horizon on the other side of the Lake. We watched as the sun disappeared in hues of pink, orange, yellow, and purple. It was amazing, and it was beautiful. Wood never showed, but I guess that could be expected. I looked down, both hands clasping one of the guys' and then looked up, the last ray of sun disappearing.

"Thanks, guys. For the best day ever."


	8. Meaning?

**A/N: So, I hope everyone had a good Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate) and the only reason I'm posting today is because... Guess what I got for Christmas: A LAPTOP! Haha, I was really excited. So onto the story!**

**This chapter has what it does in it thanks to a lovely reminder from LilyLunafan622. Thanks to her, TheFredWeasleyMonster, WeasleySeeker, and Likewow5556 for reviewing! It really means a lot to me!**

**Okay, for everyone reading this, you should know that I have no set plan for this story. I just sorta write what comes to me. I'm getting better at planning out what my chapters are gonna be about, but I hadn't before. So that's why I took like 7 chapters to write two days. Sorry :/ And I'm still deciding where I wanna end this story... thoughts, anyone? It won't be for a while but... :/**

**OH AND I ALMOST FORGOT! When you get to her letter, the underlined words are the ones she crosses out.**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: Again, FANfiction<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 8: Meaning?<strong>

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><p><em>"Miss Bell, do you agree to my terms?" A guy asked me in a cold voice. I frantically jerked my head in different directions, trying to find the voice of my captor. I opened my eyes, but it made no difference, as I was blindfolded. I felt something poke into the side of my neck, and realized it was a wand.<em>

_"Miss Bell, you have one minute." I heard a girl say. I could feel my heart beating faster and I tried to move my arms, legs, anything, but I couldn't. I didn't want to agree. I didn't want to be a slave. He sighed._

_"Until what?" I asked. He chuckled, but somehow, I don't think he found me very funny. _

_"You get to experience what I never will." He said. _

_"What, having a life? I bet the only person you've ever kissed was you mom." I snarled. I could feel the danger here, but I wasn't about to show these people that I was scared, so I went with my usual charm. _Smack!_ I gasped and blinked, hard._

_"You insolent little girl! How dare you talk to him like that! How dare you mock the Dark Lord!" She yelled, pulling my hair._

_"Bellatrix, we musn't play with our guest." He said, and I felt her, Bellatrix, I guess, release my hair. She huffed, but didn't say anything._

_"So, Miss Bell, do you agree?" He asked. He sounded pitiful and hopeful, at the same time. I scoffed._

_"I'm not known as a Gryffindor for nothing. I'm not scared to die." I said, in what I hoped was his direction._

_"What a waste of perfectly good blood." He said while removing my blindfold. My eyes flashed open to see a dimly lit room, with bits of moonlight as the only light. From the crumbling walls, and almost non-existant ceiling of the building, I could tell we were in a forest. It didn't look familiar. _

_"I always thought people were judged based on looks... It changed to blood? I guess that would make sense, after looking at you." I said, even though I couldn't see him. I braced myself for another slap, but it never came._

_"Say goodbye, Miss Bell." I heard him say in a tight voice. I found where the voice was coming from, and I repressed a shudder. He stood there, pale white, with a snake nose, and a voice like a snake's. Boy, was I right about that._

_"Bellatrix." He said, like a command. She came forward, and I couldn't think that she was like a dog, until I saw her. Her hair was all over the place, and it looked like she had already taken the crazy train to Looneyville. She smirked at me, and her expression said, 'this is going to be fun.' She pointed her wand right at me._

_"Avada Kedavra." I kept my eyes open, looking as the green light came toward me..._

I gasped and sat up fast. My sheets were strewn all over and I was in a cold sweat. I was breathing hard._ Oh Merlin... _I looked around frantically, only to see Alicia, Angelina, and Leanne fast asleep. I sighed. _It was all just a dream_. I looked up at the sky. _Really? After my great day, I had to have that dream?_ I glanced at the clock, 3:15. I got up and walked to the bathroom. My hair was a mess, and I looked half dead. I shook my head, and grabbed my wand off my nightstand on my way down to the common room. I knew I wouldn't be falling asleep anytime soon.

I walked over to my couch, the one closest the fire, and sat down. I closed my eyes, just feeling the warmth. I had almost forgot about how repulsive that voice had sounded when I heard a loud noise behind me. I jumped, pulling my wand out of my pocket, and turning around. I started walking cautiously toward the noise. It had come from the back study table of the room, which was almost completely shrouded in darkness. I took a couple steps closer to it, and realized there was someone asleep at the table.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you were here." I said quietly, starting to back away. They made that noise again, and I realized they were snoring. I sighed. _Poor kid, studying too hard. _I moved to shake their shoulder to wake them up when I saw who it was. Oliver. _Really? Gosh, the universe has a strange sense of humor. _

"Oliver." I whispered, not sure if I wanted him to wake up or not. He just snored again. I rolled my eyes. Curious, I looked down at what he was working on that would be so important as to fall asleep in the common room. I expected to see his playbook, or school work, or even a letter, but it was none of those. It was the clipboard. The one that I had fought him for just yesterday, even though it seemed like a year ago. His face was covering half of it, and he still had a quill gripped in one of his hands.

I started to reach for the clipboard, but paused to see if anyone was looking. Of course, that was before I remembered that normal people wouldn't be down here at 3 in the morning. I gently lifted up Oliver's head, pulled the clipboard out, and put his head back down.

I walked back over to my couch, and settled down into the cushions. I looked at the first paper, and felt my stomach do a flip. It was our score sheet. I looked at it, smiling fondly, but that quicky turned to confusion. Instead of Oliver-1 Katie-2, it read Oliver-3 Katie-7. I looked over at the boy, but he was still sleeping. _What the heck?_

Shaking my head, I looked at the next paper on there.

_Oliver  
><em>_1) Forcing Katie to do push ups  
><em>_2) Surprising her with a pick-up game  
><em>_3) Letting her go with no punishment_

I blinked a couple times, and decided that it made sense._ Maybe I'm on the next paper?_

_Katie  
><em>_1) Being a minute late for practice  
><em>_2) Tackling me  
><em>_3) Not crying after getting hit with a bludger  
><em>_4) Sneaking into the boy's locker room  
><em>_5) Great at lying  
><em>_6) Took responsibility for her actions  
><em>_7) Made George cheer up_

I was shocked. Shocked and genuinely touched. But confused too. _Why would he give me credit for all of those things?_ I flipped through the rest of the paper on there, but didn't see anything else. I looked back at where he was still asleep. _What am I going to do with you, Wood? _

Deciding he wouldn't miss one piece of paper, I took it and put it on the table in front me. I summoned a muggle pen from my room, and started writing.

_Dear Mr. Oliver Wood,  
>I would just like to say that you give <em>_m__Kathrine Bell too much credit. You need to think more of yourself in the competition, or else, it won't be fair. Also, I have heard that she feels horrible about what she did. Do you hate __me__ her? Because you should, after everything __I__ she did. I hope that practice isn't too awkward for __us__ you two, and I hope that __I__ she didn't screw up the team. __I'm__ She's sorry.  
>Sincerely,<br>A Concerned Friend_

I scribbled out the parts that I messed up the best that I could, but I was pretty sure he could still read them. _Oh well, at least you made an effort, even if it doesn't work out so well. _I folded the paper into a small square. After putting the pen in my pocket, I put the folded up square in the back of the pile of paper on the clipboard. I grabbed the clipboard. Surprising even myself, I made it across the room silently. Again, I gently lifted up his head and replaced the clipboard.

I looked at him, the guy who I make myself compete against. When he was alseep, he looked like any other teenager I knew, except he was probably a little more tired. And the way his hair was messed up and all over the place was _dare I say it _cute. I was about to go sit down again, but he probably should go up to his room. I sighed, and decided to be the nice person here. _Please don't hate me!_

"Oliver." I said shaking his shoulder. He sorta grunted and turned his head.

"Oliver." I said again. He closed his eyes tighter.

"Five more minutes, mum." He said. I paused, and looked at him.

"I'm not your mum." I said, smiling. His eyes slowly opened. When he saw me he blinked, slowly. And then again. He rubbed his eyes, and looked at me again. He pinched himself. I laughed. He reached out and poked my arm, and his eyes almost popped out.

"Katie?" He asked in disbelief. I bit my lip, and nodded.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, looking around.

"I... Couldn't sleep. And you were here sleeping on a table at like 3:30 in the morning. I thought I'd wake you up so you, uh, wouldn't have to sleep down here all night." I said, kinda trailing off at the end. And he didn't need to know about my nightmare either. He stood up, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well... Thanks." He said. I nodded, and shivered. It was kinda cold when you weren't by the fire. He noticed me shiver and grabbed his clipboard.

"Night." He said, heading towards the stairs. I almost sighed. I was half hoping he would stay.

"Night." I replied, going to sit down on my couch again. I didn't hear any footsteps on the stairs, and looked back.

"Are you okay?" He asked, taking a step toward me.

"I couldn't sleep. Nightmare." I said, now not really sure if I wanted him to stay. I wasn't sure what he would say.

"That's not-"

"Good. It's not good." I finished. He sighed. I knew he was going to say 'that's not what I meant,' but I didn't want to get into that tonight. We seemed to at least be talking, and I didnt' want to ruin it.

"No, it's not." He agreed. I turned back towards the fire. I didn't say anything, and we lapsed into uncomfortable silence.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" He asked after a couple minutes. I shrugged.

"Only if you want to." I said, staring at the shapes the fire was making. I was surprised when I felt him sit down next to me on the couch. I looked at him. He shifted uncomfortably.

"What?" He asked after a little bit. I shook my head.

After a while, I felt myself getting tired, and closed my eyes. _I have to tell him something! That shows that I'm glad he's here... even if we aren't talking._

"Oliver?" I asked quietly, seeing if he was still awake.

"Hmm?" He asked, I peeked my eyes open just a little bit, and he was staring at the fire, looking over my head which was currently on the armrest. He looked like he was deep in thought. _I wonder what he's thinking about?_

"Thanks." I said. He looked confused.

"For what?" He asked. I shook my head. I didn't really want to explain.

"Just... Thanks." I said. I saw him nod, and I felt the grogginess looming above me. I gave in to sleep, hoping maybe his presense would keep the nightmares at bay.


	9. You Plus Not Mad Equals Insanity

**A/N: Hello again! I'm back, and you should know that I could have posted again yesterday, but instead I started my new story The Chaser Challenge. It's this same story but told from Oliver's view. I hope maybe that will explain some more of his reactions and whatnot. So check that one out too, and I hope you like it! Also, I want to get that story caught up to this one, so I may not update this one for a little bit (probably just a couple of days, since I'm on break). Don't forget to REVIEW!**

**Thanks to all my reviewers! You really make my day!**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: You know, this is the thing I really hate putting in my stories. -_- Not mine.<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: You Plus Not Mad Equals Insanity<strong>

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><p>Slowly, my eyes blinked open the next morning. I looked around, expecting to see the common room but froze when I saw my room. I blinked again, wondering if my mind was playing tricks on me. <em>What happened? <em>

I glanced at my clock and saw that it was only 5:45 in the morning, so of course the others weren't up. I flopped back down on my bed again, thinking back to last night. The last thing I remembered was... _Oh my gosh_. I fell asleep on the couch with Oliver sitting next to me. So how did I get up here? It's not like he could carry me up the stairs. Sighing, I got up and started getting ready for classes. It's not like it would be worth going back to sleep. I put on my school uniform- the stupid skirt that I just wanted to burn, the tie that I could never tie, and my white button down shirt. The shirt I could live with, the rest I hated.

I walked out of the bathroom after putting my hair in a ponytail and brushing my teeth. I went to get my wand off of my nightstand and saw that there was a folded piece of paper under it. Sighing, I sat down to read it, hoping it wouldn't be that long. If I stayed in the room too much longer, Ange and Leesh would wake up and try to 'fix' my outfit. I looked down at the paper.

Dear Concerned Friend,  
>No need to be worried, I know yo- I mean she feels bad. And no, I don't hate you- Katie. No you- she didn't screw up the team. We're just fine. If you could make Katie come and actually talk to me, that would be great.<br>Sincerely,  
>'Mr.' Oliver Wood<p>

I stared at the note in shock. _He... doesn't hate me? And he wants to talk to me?_ I groaned, and heard someone yawn. I scrambled out the door as quick as I could, not wanting to be subjected to toture, or as they call it 'beautifying'. Still having an hour left before I would usually go down to breakfast, I decided to head out to the pitch. _Why not fly around before classes? And maybe he would be there too._

I was about to walk out of the common room when I remembered about George's brooms he hid in the curtains. Maybe he just keeps them there all the time? I checked, and luck was on my side. I opened the doors to the balcony and pushed off using the same broom I did last time.

I flew slowly towards the pitch, enjoying the view. It was so pretty and peaceful up here. I could see Hagrid outside his hut in the garden. He looked up and I waved. I turned just a little bit, angling myself towards the pitch. With that little movement, the broom went bezerk, jerking me all around. I couldn't get a good grip on the thing and felt myself slipping to the side. Oh. My. God. I'm gonna die. There's no water below me this time, and I would go splat on the ground. _Tell my family I love them. Tell Fred that he can have my broom and Quidditch gear. Tell Alicia she can make me all pretty for my funeral. Tell Geo-_

"AHHH!" I screamed when I finally slipped. I saw the ground rushing towards me and closed my eyes.

"Oof." I felt the wind knocked out of me when I landed on something. I lay there, struggling to breath. _So this is what it feels like to die. I thought it would be more pleasant._ My stomach hurt from where I had landed and I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Hi God." I barely managed to whisper. He chuckled.

"Hello there, Katie. Nice to know you think highly of me. " I froze, my eyes still closed. _Since when did God have a Scottish accent?_ I groaned.

"Why does being dead hurt so much?" I asked. This time he laughed.

"Katie, look at me." He said. I shook my head.

"No way! Won't I vaporize or something?" I asked. I think I had read that somewhere.

"I'm not God." He said. I peeked open on eye, and saw Oliver. I hugged him.

"Thank God! I thought I was going to splat on the ground like a balloon! Oh my gosh, you saved me... Thank you!" I said, still hugging him. He half hugged me back, still steering the broom we were on.

"So, uh, what happened?" He asked, looking at me.

"I wanted to go flying before classes because I was up early. So I took the broom I used yesterday with George but then it went psycho and tried to kill me." I said. He nodded slowly. We sat there, slowly circling the pitch, without saying a word. He broke the silence after a couple of minutes.

"So last night I got this note from a concerned friend of yours. They said that you think I hate you." He said, looking at me questioningly.

"Well my concerned friend got a note this morning that said you don't hate me and that you wanted to talk to me." I said, giving him the same look. He sighed.

"I just wanted to say... that I'm not mad about what you did. I get why you did it." He said, not looking at me. I shook my head, eyes wide.

"You're insane." I said. _How could he not be mad?_

"What?" He asked.

"You. Plus not being mad about me lying to you and almost ruining a Quidditch game. Equals INSANITY!" I yelle at him. He laughed.

"I guess it does look like that." He said. I smiled, and nodded.

"So are we okay now?" I asked him. He looked at me.

"Yeah." He said after a minute. I almost sighed. _Thank goodness!_ I looked at my watch.

"Holy crap!" I yelled. He looked at me in alarm.

"What?" He asked.

"I have to go! Transfiguration starts in five minutes!" I said. He quickly landed, and I started running.

"See you at practice?" He yelled. I looked over my shoulder as I was running. He was standing there with his broom in his hand.

"Yeah! See you then!" I yelled back. Sighing, I closed my eyes. Everything is going to be okay. But closing my eyes wasn't the brightest idea ever because I tripped on the uneven ground because I felt him staring at my back. Or at least that's what I think it was. I heard his laugh behind me.

"Shut up!" I yelled as I got back up and ran the rest of the way to the castle.


	10. Stay With Me

**A/N: Hey! Thanks for all the reviews and everything. :) More fluff, and a present for TheFredWeasleyMonster. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer<strong>**: ****Harry: Ginny, this is what's going on, don't you get it? Everyone is in danger that's near to me, we can't be together, because if Voldemort is back, which he is, then you're in mortal perril. Don't you get it? It's just like the Spiderman movie, haven't you seen that? MJ and Peter Parker can't be together.  
>Ginny:The whole point of Spiderman 2 was that MJ and Peter Parker could be together in the end.<br>Harry:I know, but the point of Spiderman 3 is that everything sucks and then falls to (crap)! Ginny, what I'm trying to say is I don't want my life to be like Spiderman 3, I hate that movie.  
>-A<strong>**VPM**

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><p><strong>Chapter 10: Stay With Me<strong>

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><p>The day passed in a blur, I hardly paid any attention to my classes. I was just so happy that everything was starting to turn out okay. I practically floated down to the pitch.<p>

"Someone's happy today." I jumped and turned around. It was George, and Fred was with him too. We were almost to the pitch.

"Yeah, I noticed that too brother." Fred said. I shrugged and smiled, not saying anything. They just looked at me. I bit my lip.

"He's not even mad. At all." I told them. They gave me a 'no duh' look.

"Of course he's not!" Fred said. I looked at him. _What?_

"Why isn't he?" I asked. Fred smiled.

"Well, my opinion and Wood's are completely different." George said. I looked at him.

"What the heck are you talking about?" I asked.

"Nothing, I hope." Oliver said from behind us. George jumped and put a hand on his chest.

"Dear God, Wood! You scared the crap outta me!" He said. Wood glared at him.

"Go get ready." He said.

"Yes, master. Of course, master. Whatever you say master." George said sarcastically. I smiled, looking cautiously at Oliver. He seemed to be in a bad mood. Fred laughed.

"YOU TOO, WEASLEY!" He yelled. Fred looked at him with wide eyes before running off. He mouthed, 'good luck' over his shoulder.

"Um... Oliver?" I asked. I held my breath. _He's gonna yell at me too now._

"...What?" He asked after a minute.

"Are... Are you okay?" I asked. He sighed.

"I got detention. Practice tomorrow is cancelled." He said before stalking off to the locker room. He looked back and gave me a half smile and then went in. I had to resist the strong urge to roll my eyes. _Of course, he's mad about cancelling practice._

I got ready as fast as I could, and met the others out on the pitch. We sat there tying our shoes, and were about to put our arm guards on, when Wood came up to the group with the twins.

"You won't need those." Fred told me. I put them down slowly.

"Then what are we gonna do?" Harry asked. I was looked at Oliver. He glanced at George, and George looked at him like he was crazy. Oliver sighed.

"Bleacher sprints. Go." He said, pointing to our stands across the field. Sighing, we all got up and started walking over there. Harry walked up next to me.

"So um... what exactly are the bleacher sprints?" He whispered, looking like he really didn't want to know. I patted him on the shoulder.

"You run up and down those stairs all practice." I told him grimly. He glanced over his shoulder.

"He really does hate us, doesn't he?" Harry asked. I laughed.

"He's in a rotten mood today. Has to cancel practice tomorrow because of detention." I told him.

"This sucks." He said. _Right on, kid. _We walked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"Hey, you got any plans after practice?" I asked. He thought about it for a second before shaking his head.

"No... don't think so." He said.

"Do you want to come with us to dinner? Me, Alicia, and Angelina, are going to eat in the kitchens after practice. You're welcome to come too." I said, smiling. He looked at me.

"Am I gonna be the _only_ guy?" He asked. I laughed and shook my head no. I turned around and saw the twins walking side by side, whispering.

"Oi! Gred, Forge!" I yelled. They looked up, and ran over.

"You wanna come to get dinner in the kitchens with us after practice?" I asked. They looked at each other, and shrugged.

"Sure."

"Why not?" They said. I smiled, turning to Harry.

"So you in?" I asked. He nodded.

"Everyone, go!" Oliver yelled, going up first. I sighed, mentally preparing myself for an hour of running up stairs. _God, I hate you Wood. Well not really. But kinda._

On about our fifth time heading up, I turned to the red-head next to me.

"So... you heard... there... was no... practice... tomorrow... right?" I managed to wheeze out between shallow breaths. He nodded.

"You... know why?" He asked, in just as bad shape as me.

"Detention." I coughed out. He looked at me for a second before nodding.

"Yeah." He said. After that we shut up, and were trying to keep the pace that Wood set. We were almost to the top when we heard a crash above us. I heard someone groan and I glanced at Fred. He just rolled his eyes.

"The guy deserves it after this." He said, stopping on that stair and sitting down. I resisted the extreme urge to hit him, and ran up as fast as I could to Oliver. He was sitting on the platform at the top, holding his ankle.

"Katie, go away." He said. I looked at him in shock_. Why should I?_

"No! You got hurt!" I said, still standing where I was. He sighed.

"I'm fine, just go. Practice is over." He said. I stared at him, raising my eyebrows.

"Oh really, you're okay? Then stand up." I said. His jaw clenched, and he started to get up. He was just fine, except he wasn't putting any weight on the foot that he had hurt. I took a step closer to him, prepared to catch him.

"Now take a step toward me." I said. He rolled his eyes, and took a deep breath. He took a step like he would every other day, not even easing onto it. He fell forward, and guess who was there to catch him? Me. Except, that kinda backfired because he was heavier than I thought, so I ended up just breaking his fall. My breath was half squished out of me when he pinned me to the ground.

"Oh my God! I'm sorry Katie!" He said, not moving. I rolled my eyes.

"Just get off of me." I said. He managed to get up and sit down next to where I had been. I jumped up.

"Okay, stand up again." I said. He looked at me like I was crazy, but obliged. I went over and put his arm around my shoulder and my arm around his waist.

"Human crutch, okay?" I said. He nodded. We made it down to Fred, and the rest of the team who had stopped there, very slowly.

"Hey the lovebirds are back." Fred said. I sent a glare at him, not being able to do anything more.

"Practice is over, and no practice tomorrow." Oliver said. The rest of them cheered. I, on the other hand, wasn't happy about this news. No idea why, but I wasn't.

"So you gonna be late to dinner?" Ange asked. I shrugged.

"Depends on if Wood is going to get over his fear of the Hospital Wing or not..." I trailed off, looking at him. He shook his head.

"No, it's just gonna be a sprain." He said. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, would you like to come to dinner with us?" Alicia asked. He looked shocked.

"Well, I dunno..." He said after a while. _Idiot, it's your fault we even have to go eat late at all._

"Come on! The rest of the team's going!" I said, hoping to convince him. He sighed.

"Okay." He said. I smiled and he just looked at me. I glanced at my shoes, finding them very interesting.

"So, um, how are we getting the cripple out of the bleachers?" George asked. I smiled.

"I thought of two options, one more fun than the other. Either brooms, or turn the stairs into a slide." I said. Fred and George grinned at the last one. I turned to Oliver.

"So which is it, Cap'n?" I asked. He shrugged. _Wrong answer_. Suddenly, the stairs were turned to a slide, and we all shot down it. When we first fell, Oliver had pulled me to him, so I was practically sitting on him. I tried not to think about it too much. The others had made it down before us, so as soon as we came to a somewhat stop, I jumped up. Oliver got up and then I had to be a human crutch again. We slowly hobbled out way to the castle after getting our gear.

"So, thought of any new plays?" I asked Oliver. I didn't know what to talk about, and Quidditch was always a safe subject. He started in on this really big lecture, explanation, whatever you want to call it, so I tuned him out. George and Harry were right behind us. I tuned into their conversation because I heard my name.

"Isn't it funny how Katie's helping Oliver?" George asked.

"Yeah, especially after their competition, and what you told me about them." Harry said. _What? What did George tell Harry?_ George laughed.

"Just wait. It'll get better. And then worse. And then better again." He said. I was about to turn around and ask him what the heck does that mean, when Oliver squeezed my shoulder.

"Katie?" He asked. My head jerked to him.

"You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?" He asked. I shook my head guiltily. He just laughed. We all walked down to the kitchens in relative silence. I slipped out from under Oliver's arm to tickle the pear. A handle appeared, and I opened the door. The others waited behind Oliver, so we got to go in first. The others followed, and went to sit down.

"Miss Katie!" I heard someone yell. I looked around and saw Winky standing there. She ran up and hugged my legs.

"How is Miss Katie?" She asked. I laughed.

"I'm doing fine. How 'bout you?" I asked her. She looked at me with wide eyes.

"Miss Katie, I'm just so happy you visited again. Winky loves to see you." She said. Aw...

"Thanks! And you can call me Katie. I think we're at that point now." I said, smiling. _Oliver's starting to get heavy._

"Okay, Mi- Katie. Oh, and Master Oliver is here too!" She said happily.

"Hi, Winky." He said as she hugged his legs too.

"Not that this isn't fun, but can we sit down?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound too rude.

"Oh, yes of course Katie." Winky said, stepping aside. Oliver and I started hobbling over to the table to take the two seats left open, side by side.

"What is wrong with Oliver?" Winky asked. He glared at me, and I smiled at him.

"He tripped on some stairs." I said.

"Oh, Winky is sorry." She said, before going to do some more work. I turned to Oliver.

"You know Winky?" I asked.

"Well, yeah. She's my favorite house elf." He said. _Weird..._

"Mine too." I said. He nodded, and we went silent, listening to the conversation around us. Fred and George were debating whether it would be better to have some map, or an invisibility cloak to sneak around the castle. Fred said the cloak, and George said the map. Angelina was listening to Harry talk about his horrible aunt and uncle and how he was forced to live under the stairs at their house. Alicia was staring at George. I nudged her, and mouthed, 'what are you thinking?' She just shook her head and I sighed. Fred and George had gotten to the point of almost yelling.

"GUYS! It would be better to have both!" I said. They turned to look at me.

"So true." They said at the same time. Oliver rolled his eyes. I turned to see a bunch of house elves carrying out a bunch of food and sitting it on the table. _The others must have ordered without us. _We all piled a ton of food on our plates and conversation momentarily stopped.

"You're still a pig." Alicia said, looking at George. I smiled. _She's actually gonna do this._

"And you're still beautiful." George said, smiling softly at her.

"I'm sorry." She said, looking at her hands.

"I know you are." He said. She just shrugged. There was an awkward pause while we were all staring at them.

"I... I'm still... I'm still in love with you." She said, looking up at him. He froze.

"Oh my gosh. I'm sorry. That was stupid of me. She said, getting up and heading towards the door. George caught her halfway there.

"I love you too." He said softly. Then he leaned down and kissed her gently.

"Awwww." The chorus of house elves said.

"Finally!" Fred and I said at the same time. I rolled my eyes. He got up and sat next to me, where Leesh had been sitting earlier. They sat down next to each other, and were still holding hands. I looked at Oliver, and he just rolled his eyes. _Probably not happy about the inter-team dating._ After a little bit, the now happy couple both stood up.

"We're gonna go." George said. When they were almost out the door, Fred stood up.

"Have fun in your broom closet!" He yelled. George just laughed, and they both left.

"Well that took longer than I thought." Oliver said. I looked at him, and shook my head.

"I think it took just enough time." I said. He looked at me questioningly and I just shook my head again. Fred finished his drink and slammed his glass down.

"I think I'm going. Coming Angie?" He asked. She nodded and stood up. They walked to the door hand in hand.

"Have fun in _your_ broom closet!" I called. Ange laughed, but Fred looked about ready to flip me off. Ange rolled her eyes and dragged him out of the room before he could do anything stupid.

"I'd better be going too. Hermione will be freaking out if I'm not back in a couple minutes." Harry said. We waved to him, and he left. And then there were two.

I finished my dinner not long after everyone else had left, and Oliver was picking at his food. He looked bored.

"You ready to go?" I asked him. He looked up, startled. _Wonder what he was thinking about._

"Hm? Oh, yeah... Yeah." He said, standing up.

"You should have said something if you wanted to leave with the rest of them." I said, as we walked to the door.

"I didn't mind staying with you." He said. I blushed. _What the heck? Why are you blushing? It's just Wood!_

"So to the infirmary, or Gryffindor Tower?" I asked him.

"The tower." He replied immediately. I rolled my eyes.

"You know, for being the person who has to be in there for the _most_ Quidditch related injuries, you sure seem to be scared of it." I said. _I wonder why?_

"I just... I don't like hospitals." He said, looking at the ground.

"Why?" I asked, curious. He sighed, and didn't say anything for a minute.

"My, uh... my little brother has cancer. He has to go there a lot." He said quietly.

"Oh... I'm sorry." I said, not sure what else to say.

"It's okay. He's actually getting a lot better." He said.

"That's good. How old is he?" I asked. Oliver looked at me for a second.

"Five. He's five." He said. I bit my lip.

"Tell him I say hi the next time you write home, okay?" I asked. I know it won't make it better, but it made me feel like I was doing something.

"I will." He said. I nodded, and we walked in silence up to the tower.

"Your room or the common room?" I asked. _Please say common room, please say common room, please-_

"My room." I sighed, and we walked up more stairs. I sat him down on his bed, and started to leave.

"Hey, Katie?" He asked. I turned around.

"Yeah?" I asked. He bit his lip.

"Stay with me?" He asked. I blinked.

"What?" I asked. _What does he mean by that?_

"Stay with me." He said again. I sat down by his feet.

"So what exactly would I do if I stayed up here a little longer with you?" I asked, curious to know what was running through his mind.

"You should write to my little brother with me." He said, looking at me. I bit my lip, but found myself nodding.

"Okay."


	11. DropKicking, Punching, and More

**A/N: So, I'm back again... twice in one day. *Sigh* I have no life. Oh well, I have all of my friends here, right? Right? But after this, I'm not updating until Chaser Challenge is caught up. You'll see why. And you're probably gonna kill me but I hope you'll get over it? I hope this story doesn't seem like it's going downhill... :/**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: Pettigrew: 'What do you want on your tombstones?'<br>Ron and Harry: 'Red Vines!'  
>-AVPS<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 11: Drop-Kicking, Punching, and More<strong>

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><p>"You should get a pen and paper out of my desk." Oliver said. I looked around questioningly.<p>

"The one on the left of my bed." He said. I walked over and opened it up. I grabbed a paper out of the bottom drawer, and opened the top one for a pen. Right on top, there was a picture of a little boy, he had to be about 9 or 10, who was holding a little baby. They boy looked to be a younger Oliver. Behind them was a white house that had a perfectly trimmed garden in the front of it. I picked up the picture and looked at the back of it. _Oliver (9) holding Robert (11 months) in the front yard. July 29. _ It said in loopy handwriting.

There were two other pictures beneath it. One was of the same two boys, but a little older. Oliver was dressed in his robes already, and they were at the platform. On one side was his trunk, and on the other, he was holding hands with a toddler. Oliver was smiling brightly, and the boy was looking up at his brother. The little boy looked like a miniature Oliver, except something was off. The back of this one said, _Oliver (11) on his first day of Hogwarts at Platform 9 3/4. Robbie (3) saying goodbye. September 1._

The last one was of just Robert. He was sitting in a chair at what looked like a hospital. He looked nervous, but still smiled at the camera. His hair was longer than Oliver would have ever let his grow, and his blue eyes looked excited, but still a little scared. That was it though. He had blue eyes, and not brown like Oliver. The back of this one said, _Robbie (4) before first chemo treatment. March 7. Hi Ollie._ The 'hi Ollie' was written in a child's handwriting.

"Did I leave my pen somewhere again? God, I'm always losing that thing." Oliver said, trying to get up.

"No, it's right here." I said, putting the pictures back and grabbing the pen.

"Oh, good." He said, grabbing it, and the paper out of my hands. He started scribbling away, and I sat down next to him on the bed. _I wonder what he's writing about?_

"Here, you wanna write something?" Oliver asked, flipping the paper over and giving it to me. I sat there, not quite sure what to write.

"Does he have a nick-name?" I asked Oliver, making sure it would be okay to call him Robbie. He nodded.

"Robbie." He said quietly. I nodded.

_Hey, Robbie! This is Katie. I'm a friend of your brother (Well I'm on his Quidditch team... that's about the closest thing to friends he's got :P), and just thought I would say hi... So hi! And I just thought I'd tell you that you don't have to worry, I'll watch over you brother. You know, make sure he doesn't drown himself in the showers after we lose a match. So hope you're doing okay, and write back soon! -Katie _

Oliver read it and smiled.

"He'll love it. He's always wanting to hear about and from my friends. Well when he's not making fun of me." He said, frowning. I half smiled, and looked at him cautiously.

"You're wondering why he does it, aren't you?" I asked. He looked at me, surprised.

"Yeah." He said nodding. I bit my lip and looked at him. _I hope he doesn't get mad about me asking._

"Did they set a date?" I asked, looking at my hands in my lap.

"Two years, if treatment doesn't work." He said sadly. I frowned, thinking of my cousin. He had died last year, from a car crash he was in. They gave him about a week to live, and he was horrible to us then. I was talking to him just an hour before he died, and he admitted why, but made me promise not to tell anyone, so I didn't.

"He's being mean so that you won't miss him when he's gone." I informed him.

"What?" He asked in disbelief. I shrugged.

"You heard me." I said. _Please just let him drop it._

"How would you know?" He asked, turning towards me. He wasn't mad, just curious.

"You're not the only one who's either lost or is on the verge of losing someone... Car crash. My cousin." I said, answering the questions in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." He said. I nodded, and we both just sat there for a minute.

"You feel like you can't be mad at him. That you have to be nice even when he's being a jerk. That eventually builds up you know. That resentment finally just bursts out. That's why my cousin told me why he was being a jerk." I said. He looked down.

"You're cousin wasn't five, and used to treat you like God." He said. I let it go, sitting therre in silence.

"He looks a lot like you." I said quietly after a while. Oliver stared at me.

"What?" He asked. I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. _He's been saying that a lot lately._

"Robbie. I saw the pictures." I said, looking at him. He smiled, like you would when remembering an old inside joke.

"Everyone used to say he was my clone." He said.

"Yeah, but you're different too." I pointed out with a grin. Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Oh really? How? We both look identical!" He said.

"And we both love Quidditch." He added as an afterthought. _Oh no! There's another one! _

"We're like the same person." He said, frowning. _Obviously, someone else got all the attention at home._ I grabbed his arm.

"You're not the same person. You're each special and individual. And you would probably murder him if he didn't like Quidditch." I said. He rolled his eyes at me. I smiled.

"You still don't believe me, do you?" I asked. He shook his head.

"You're the most dedicated person I have ever met. You're the best Quidditch Captain and player that I have ever heard of. You're one of the most fun people to be around. You make people try their hardest. You're brave, or I guess you could call it stupid too. I look up to you." I said. He didn't look at me.

"So? When we get older, all I'll be known as is a look alike." He said glumly. I was about two seconds away from drop-kicking his butt into next week.

"Oliver!" I said, standing up and staring down at him. He obviously didn't like that, so he stood up too. He was looming over me, looking taller than usual at our close proximity.

"It's true!" He said, giving me a look, telling me to shut up.

"No it's not! And you have the same issue I did!" I yelled up at him.

"I can't be mad at a freakin' dying five year old!" He yelled back.

"Newsflash for ya! WE'RE ALL DYING!" I yelled, waving my hands around.

"Then why can't I die before my brother? That would be fair! That's how it's supposed to be!" He yelled at me, his voice cracking at the end.

"Nothing EVER goes the way it's planned! That's why I'm falling for a stupid DIPSHIT!" I yelled. At that moment, my feelings finally caught up to me. _I like Oliver Wood. I. Like. Oliver. Wood. I LIKE THE FREAKIN' QUIDDITCH NAZI!_

"Oh, you hear that? She fell for a dipshit! Who is it? George?" He asked, looking angry. _How could he think I like George? He's like my brother!_

"It's-" I started to say.

"Oh, so it's not. Huh, I wouldn't be surprised. It's probably Davies, or Diggory." He said, looking sure of himself. That made me mad. _I've hated those two for the longest time. I can't believe he had the nerve to say that._

"It's not-" _Oh, look, I got one more word out._

"Or Harry. I bet you really did fall for the Boy Who Lived." He said, staring at me with superiority. I was two seconds away from punching his pretty little face.

"I don't-" I tried to say.

"I bet you-" He interrupted.

"WOULD YOU SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU FREAKIN' DIPSHIT!" _I really shouldn't have stayed here. Or just shut up about it._

"Why should I? As your captain I have the right to know wh-" _I've had enough of this._ He was shut up by me leaning up and kissing him. He froze and I stared at him wide eyed for a second before turning around and running out the door._ Oh. My. God_. I ran and flopped down on my bed_. _

_I can't believe I just did that._


	12. Stupid Enough

**A/N: I have decided that since my other plan backfired that I will update. Especially after that horrible cliffhanger. Plus the guilt was eating me alive but you know, whatever :P Well that and Rachel told me that I should update this one first. Most definitely not my best work, but I've been having a rough week. My friend committed suicide, and it's been really tough. Forgive me? It's a little short, but I'll hopefully update in about a week.**

**Thanks to Valerie Grimm for being the 50th reviewer! That really made my day when I saw I had 50, even though I hadn't updated in forever. So don't forget to review!**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: Is JKR a horrible person that leaves a story hanging for about a month? No. She isn't. <strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 12: Stupid Enough<strong>

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><p>I laid there on my bed for I don't know how long, not even bothering to close the curtains. The others would find out soon enough what happened. I sat up, and was rubbing my eyes when the door burst open. Ange, Leesh, Leanne and the twins ran and flopped on my bed beside me. I sighed. <em>It really didn't take them too long.<em>

"What happened?"

"What'd you do?"

"Katie?"

"Are you okay?"

"Wood's in shock!" Everyone said at once. The last one registered. My eyes widened.

"What do you mean he's in shock?" I asked, still feeling numb. I knew I should be worried, but I just couldn't find my heart, couldn't make myself feel. Fred gave me a look.

"Here, I'll demonstrate." George said, standing up. He moved so that he stood on the side of the bed that Oliver had when I left him. He stood there, eyes wide, mouth open, hands held out in front of him. I stared at him blankly.

"And what does that have to do with me?" I asked.

"Well we went there first and the only thing we got out of him was, 'shejuhkees... buh... Bell...' I think we have slight evidence that you were behind it." Fred said, putting an arm around my shoulder. I sat there in silence, not really processing what they were saying, or more importantly, not being able to think of an answer.

"Katie we need to know what happened." Leanne said, using that motherly voice she has. I sighed.

"Well... we finished dinner, and I had to take him up to his room." I stopped when the twins started laughing. I glared at them. They shut up right away.

"Continue, plox." George said. _What?_

"What does that mean?" Alicia asked.

"Plox? It means please. He's used that for as long as I can remember." Fred said. We all nodded slowly.

"Anyways." Angelina said, turning to me.

"Then he told me about his little brother who is like... five and has cancer and I felt bad and we started writing to him and then he was acting all upset and said he couldn't be mad at a five year old and I told him to shut up and that he's amazing and he wouldn't freakin' shut up and then started making fun of me saying I like Diggory and Davies and I... gotmadand justkissedhim." I said in a rush. I didn't mean to tell them everything, but once I started talking, I just couldn't stop. They all blinked and looked kinda confused.

"So, to put this in normal terms... You were writing to his little brother who has cancer when he started being a jerk so you kissed him to shut him up?" Angelina asked. I took a breath to argue and say that was wrong but just ended up nodding.

"Pretty much." I said. I was starting to calm down just a little bit. No one said anything for the longest time.

"I just can't believe... that you were stupid enough to kiss him!" Leanne said, laughing a little.

"I can't believe she was stupid enough to go up to his room with him." Leesh said.

"I can't believe she was stupid enough to spend more time there than she had to." Ange said.

"I can't believe she was stupid enough to admit she likes him, without realizing it herself before then." Fred said, smiling at me.

"I can't believe she was stupid enough to run away from him!" George said. I looked at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, not quite sure if I wanted to know.

"Talk to him and find out." Was all he said. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, right. I'm not gonna go talk to him after I just humiliated myself." I said, hitting my head on the wall behind my bed.

"Just go talk it out with him."

"You can't avoid him forever." The twins said.

"You go talk to him, or I will make sure you don't get to play Quidditch for the rest of the year." Ange said, while the other two girls nodded. I rolled my eyes. _There was no way they would take Quidditch away from me. Was there?_

"Okay, okay I will." I said, getting up and heading towards the door. They visibly relaxed, thinking I was actually gonna talk to him. I mentally rolled my eyes. _Retards._

"I can't believe I was stupid enough to be friends with you people... and I can't believe you were stupid enough to think I was gonna talk to him!" I said, seeing the shocked looks on their faces for only a second before slamming the door and running down the stairs. I needed a place to go, one where they wouldn't find me.

The pitch was out of the question. That's normally the first place I would go, hence the first place they would look. I needed to go somewhere they wouldn't expect, somewhere they would never think of. I needed a place to sort through my feelings and all the thoughts plaguing my head.

Then it hit me. I had one of two choices, neither all that appealing to me. Forbidden Forest or Black Lake. The latter seeming more appealing, I started to make my way out to say hi to the Giant Squid.


	13. Breathing Hard, It Echoes

**Author's Note: Why hello there :) I'm sorry that I've been gone for so long, but life's been hectic. I'm sure we all can relate. So, I'm not sure where this story is going, where I should end it, and everything else. Please stick with me? And I'm sorry, but if you don't like my story (whether it is because of my choice of title, or something else), then just don't read it. Don't review. Just leave me alone, please. :] So I'm back, and trying to get a grip on this story, just like Katie's trying to get a grip on her head. Enjoy :) Sorry it's a little short, but I thought it was a good place to leave it off. :/**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: Hmmm... I doubt that JKRowling is obsessed with Breathe by He is We. I'm learning it on guitar for anyone who cares. :P Might even end up singing it with my friend for a talent show at school.<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 13: Breathing Hard, It Echoes<strong>

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><p><em>Wood. Kiss. Run. Fight. Stand up for yourself. Yell. Scream. Whisper. Cry. Fly. Beat with a club. Change my name. Makeover. Plastic surgery. Witness Protection Program. Go home. Hug my teddy bear. Owl my sister. Kiss. Want. Anger. Rage. Hurt. Helpless. React. Frozen. Go back in time. Ruined everything. New beginning. Hates me. Never talk to me again. Don't know what do to. Hate him. Like him. Confused. Kiss. GAHHHHHHHH!<em>

I bent down, picked up a stone, and threw it as hard as I could into the lake. For the first time in an hour, I could hear the resounding splash. I could feel the soreness of my muscles from constantly throwing rocks. I sighed, overwhelmed by the thoughts bombarding my head, and sat down. I pressed my hands against my face and rested them on my knees. After a few minutes of that, I flopped down, spread eagled on my back. I sifted the sand through my fingers.

_Okay, each grain is another thought to let go. Go back in time, dropped. Change my name, dropped. Witness Protection Program, plastic surgery, dropped. _But with those thoughts gone, more invaded my brain. Good, bad, anything and everything in between.

"GOD!" I screamed, wanting it all to stop. For just a moment, so I could figure out what I had to do. I clenched my teeth, but realized that I felt better, just minimally though.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" I yelled, standing up. I could feel my blood pumping, pounding against my head.

"I HATE YOU!" I screamed, running on top of a nearby rock. I paused, and listened to it echo over the lake. I smirked. It sounded great.

"I HATE YOU FOR MAKING ME FEEL UNWANTED! I HATE YOU FOR FREEZING! I HATE YOU FOR CONFUSING ME! I HATE YOU SO MUCH! YOU JUST NEED TO DIE! THAT WOULD MAKE MY LIFE SO MUCH EASIER!" I yelled, spewing everything I was feeling. But then I stopped. Breathing hard, it became clearer. I don't hate him. Not at all.

I don't hate him. I don't hate the way he smiles when I walk down to the common room with my bed head. I don't hate the way he always pushes me too hard in practice. I don't hate the way he keeps track of our stupid tallies. I don't hate the way he starts to say stupid things when we stay up too late. I don't hate the way he seems so fearless.

In fact.. I kind of like it. And I like the way he's always wearing Puddlemere stuff. And the way he knows what to do. I like how he can almost telepathically communicate with the twins. And how he brings the team together. And how he cares about everyone.. especially me.

I smiled slightly, the realization a little bittersweet. I guess I did like him. A lot. I just didn't realize it till now because I wouldn't let myself.

But that's not the problem now. It's what to do about that. And the kiss. But I guess the answer was right there in front of me. I really couldn't do anything, now could I? It's pretty obvious that he doesn't like me that way, so I can just play it off. When I see him again, I'll just laugh and say, "well that was a great way to shut you up, wasn't it?" Yeah, that would work. Of course it will.

I turned toward the castle, deciding it was time to go back. But after a couple steps, I ran back and stood on the same rock as before.

"I like Oliver Wood." I whispered, smiling slightly, which quickly turned into a grin. A quick look around revealed to one outside.

"I LIKE OLIVER WOOD!" I screamed, laughing as Wood echoed. It felt good to admit it. I smiled, and climbed down from the rock. I walked slowly back to the castle, wading in the shallow water with my shoes off. The water felt good on my toes. All of a sudden, there was a splash to my left, and I turned. The Giant Squid came to say hello. I laughed, and splashed back at him. I swear, if squids could be happy, he was. I laughed, and realized I was nearing the castle.

I looked up at the tree that I had hung out with George and Lee by. I smiled, hoping that we could do it again someday. I sighed. _Time to head in._ With a dash of daring courage, I looked up at Oliver's window. The only thing I saw was the curtain swishing, which led me to wonder if he had been watching.

Well I guess I'll never know.


	14. The Epic Battle of Awesomeness

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Why hello there my dedicated.. Readers? Reviewers? Followers? :O I'm Voldemort! Haha just kidding. Well maybe you can tell, I'm just in a good mood today. Well sorta. Now I am. Earlier I was forced to watch Aracnophobia. SCARIEST. FREAKING. MOVIE. EVER. But maybe that's just because I have a deadly fear of spiders like Ron. Guess who screamed a lot? This girl! Haha but enough of that. You guys are just here to read my story which I have done a poor job of updating. But I'm back! Can I get a woot woot? Lol no? Okay :(**

**THANKS TO ALL MY REVIEWERS!**

**DISCLAIMER: I think we all know HP isn't mine. I mean, come on bro.**

**ONTO THE STORY! :D**

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><p><strong>Chapter 14: The Epic Battle of Awesomeness<strong>

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><p>When I got back into the castle, I didn't want to go to Gryffindor Tower. I just didn't really feel like being around people right now. So where did I go? To the kitchens of course! Where else could I not be bothered, AND get ice cream. And boy, did I need ice cream. It just makes everything better.<p>

Once I got to the portrait, I reached my hand out to tickle the pear, but then quickly realized the door was already open. Just a crack, but still open. I know that it seems kinda stupid, but immediately, I flattened myself against the wall next to the portrait. I peeked in real quick to see who was in there. All I saw was the profile of someone, and judging by the length of hair, it was a guy.

I stood there for a couple minutes, hoping he would move or do something, but nope. I sighed, and looked at my watch. We had about 20 minutes until we had to be back to the tower. Deciding that ice cream was more important than the person standing there, I gripped the portrait and opened it, walking in, but not paying any attention to what was in front of me.

And I wouldn't have cared, but then I did suddenly when something cold, drippy, and sorta wet was all over my head and down the front of me. My mouth opened in shock and some of the stuff dripped in my mouth. Instinctively, I tasted it. I mean, what else am I supposed to do when something gets shoved in my mouth. Well, sort of.

Peanut butter. And chocolate. It was my favorite kind of ice cream. Don't get me wrong, I love ice cream. Just not on my clothes.

"Oh.. My.. Merlin.. I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you-" The person kept going on, and walked away to go get napkins. But, you know, with my luck, the guy was just the person I was trying to avoid. Oliver still had his back to me, getting napkins. _Payback, bro_. I grabbed the mound of ice cream that was still sitting on top of my head, and walked over behind him. I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned, only to have me smush the cold treat all over his face.

His mouth opened in shock. "Did you just.. I think.. You just.." He accented his point by making another face. I smirked at him. And he smirked back. _Oh no. What's he.._

"AH!" I screamed, running away from him as he grabbed a tub full of the ice cream that was apparently sitting on the table. He grabbed a handful from there and chucked it at me. Now this really caught me by surprise because I thought that he would have chased after me, but no.

Now thinking quick, like the chaser I am, I ducked, pretending that it was just a stray bludger or something. I laughed when I heard the splat it made against the cabinet behind me. Winky, being the dear that she is, appeared by my side and handed me a tub of ice cream too.

"Have fun!" She whispered with a smile, and with that she disappeared. I smiled, still ducked behind the table. He won't know what's coming for him.

I grabbed a heaping handful, and crawled under the table over to where I could see his feet. Yelling, I jumped out, and he yelped, and started slipping, but caught himself on the table. But it was too late, I was already smearing creamy goodness all over him. He smirked, and grabbed my arm with one hand and dumped the entire tub on my head. I shrieked, and we were both laughing our heads off.

I put my tub on the table, grabbed two hand fulls, and tossed them at him. He caught them and tossed them back. This went on and on until we were both soaked, ice cream covered almost every surface in the kitchen, and we couldn't breathe from laughing so hard.

"That was.. The.. most.. fun.. I've had.. in.. such a.. long.. time!" Oliver managed to gasp out between laughing bits, leaning against the table for support. I smiled and rolled my eyes.

"That's the most fun you've had ever!" I exclaimed. He nodded.

"Good point." He said smiling. Winky walked out then.

"Oh.. " She said, "I was rather hoping you would eat some of it. But I guess that doesn't matter." She walked back into the kitchen farther, probably to get more help. Just to prove Winky's point, Oliver grabbed a piece that was sitting on his shoulder and popped it in his mouth.

"Not too bad, if I do say so myself." He said with an approving smile, which brought on another round of laughter. After that died down, I looked at him and sighed.

"Well.. I guess I should probably be heading to bed now." I said, not really wanting to leave, but not wanting to face the problems that we both ignored while having our little fight.

"Did you not want to reminice about our Epic Battle of Awesomeness?" He asked, smiling, but still looking like he didn't want to leave. I laughed.

"Well it was great and all, but I need to get some sleep." I said, heading for the door. I was just pushing it open with my foot, not wanting to smear ice cream on the inside of the portrait when he said something.

"Katie.. wait." I almost didn't. I stopped, but didn't turn around, didn't make any moves. I heard him sigh.

"Look about earlier-"

"Great dinner right?" I asked, trying to not bring up the subject he wanted to.

"Yeah but-"

"The house elves really outdid themselves. And just for us too!" I said, with the same intent as before.

"So true. Going back to-"

"Practice was a good work out! Even though it felt like torture at the time.." I chuckled nervously.

"Thanks!" He said, and I thought that it had worked, but he continued. "I'm trying to-"

"It's great George and Leesh got back together! I knew it would happen." I said.

"Yeah same here." He said. I turned around and he just looked in my eyes. I had to look away.

"Goodnight, Oliver." I said quitely, turning around. As I was closing the door, I saw him. He looked at me with these unreadable eyes.

"Goodnight Kates."


	15. Killing the Nazi

**A/N: As it is Thanksgiving break, and I have no school, no homework that I WANT to do, and have already done the torturous chores that my mother has assigned to me; I HAVE DECIDED TO UPDATE. YOU MAY APPLAUDE. Just kidding :) But hopefully I'll update a couple times over the break, but I promise nothing. Not necessarily my best work but I'm happy with it :) It seems pretty long too.**

**I want to thank all of you who reviewed and I promise that I will personally recognize you if you review for this chapter, because I love my reviewers. :) Also, feel free to tell me where you're from! I'd love to know who all likes this story, and where they're from. And I just don't feel like going to look at the story stats lol don't blame me for being lazy. TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELVES PEOPLE. WE CAN BE FRIENDS HERE :) I'm not creepy. Seriously, I just want you guys to know I really do care about you guys :)**

**ONTO THE CHAPTER!**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I'm just a poor girl trying to express how much I love Harry Potter. Don't hate me. ...JK I'm not poor.<strong>

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 15: Killing the Nazi<strong>

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><p>The next morning, after I had showered of course, was surprisingly good. I had a good night's sleep, with no dreams. I just felt so.. refreshed. Like I really hadn't been as stressed and worried about what happened yesterday.<p>

It also helped me put a new perspective on everything. I should just focus on my sports, and school. I don't have time for boys right now. I'll just be around him as much as my priorities allow, and see what happens from there. I'll cherish every moment I get to spend with Oliver, but just try to forget about the kiss. Yeah, that'll work.

I got dressed and went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. I took my usual seat, and wouldn't you know, the next person who sat down next was Oliver. He sat right across from me, and we ate in silence. It was.. comfortable. At least for me. We didn't have to worry about the others, and what they would think. It was just us. And we had always been comfortable with just us.

After I had finished, I still played with the food on my plate, not wanting to leave before him. He finished too and we looked at each other. He made a face. And I made one back. This continued for a couple minutes before I couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing.

"I win!" He said, smiling. I shook my head.

"Nope!" I said, standing up, hoping he would follow. He did.

"I'm not arguing with you!" He said, laughing, grabbing his bag.

"Good! Cuz you'd loooooose!" I said, and we both walked out the door.

"What class do you have?" He asked, as we started to walk toward the stairs.

"Free period." I said. He nodded.

"What about you?" I asked.

"Free period." He said smiling.

"Pitch?" I asked.

"Pitch." He agreed. We turned around and headed out the doors, down to the field.

"What class do you have after that?" He asked me after a couple minutes of not talking.

"Transfig with McGonagall. Blah." I said. He turned toward me.

"Why 'blah'? Minnie loves us!" He said laughing.

"Minnie? Little bit _friendly_ with her?" I said with a wink. He looked horrified.

"No. Absolutely no. No... No. That's.. EW. WHY DID YOU EVEN SAY THAT?!" He asked, going on.

"I just thought you deserved a little teasing after you called our teacher Minnie." I said smiling. He rolled his eyes.

"Well I'm gonna go change into practice clothes. See you in a bit." He said, walking into the guys locker room.

"Bye." I said, maybe a little too late, as the door had just closed. I sighed, mentally slapping myself. _You were supposed to just be cool, chill. Act like you always used to. It's just Oliver! Hah.. _Just _Oliver. lLIke you're not totally in love with the guy._

I shook my head, and walked into the locker room. I inhaled, smelling the sweat and everything that came with it. Most of the girls complained about the smell; saying that it smelled like the boys use it when we're not here.

Technically.. They did. Although I'd never rat them out to the girls. They liked the showers in here better, and it was less open so the guys had more privacy. Which apparently is very important for them, so they don't have awkward situations, because 'for guys it's different.' I just laughed when the twins had tried to explain it to me. I don't see how showers could play in to which locker room was better.

I quickly changed and threw my stuff in my locker, grabbing my broom and running outside. Oliver wasn't out there yet, so I took off, doing some laps. There was a slight breeze, pulling me toward the left, so I went with it, doing a few loops, laughing the whole time. Then, came my smart idea, let's fly upside down!

I rolled over, hooked my feet together, and held on tight. I didn't just start out slow. No, loops again. It was so amazing, I felt free. I was grinning so much, I couldn't remember a time I felt so light and happy. I started corkscrewing all all of these other crazy stunts just because I could.

"BELL!" I heard someone yell from right next to me, I looked over and smiled at him, wondering how he had caught up to me. I was in the middle of a corkscrew so he was spinning. It just made me laugh harder.

"What?" He asked, with a cute little half smirk.

"Your face." I said, and took off, heading towards the Black Lake. He sped after me, laughing at my choice in insults.

"Where are you going?" He yelled at me. I shook my head.

"Just trust me!" I yelled back, and sped toward the tentacles of the Giant Squid. He laughed, and I could tell he was still following me. When I got close enough, I reached out and grabbed one of the tentacles and then the Squid waved it around, splashing us. Oliver picked up on what I was doing and we both started 'tickling' the Squid.

It was fun, because we had a good time avoiding the tentacles and getting wet, and today was pretty hot out. I was just about to call out to Oliver to say that we'd better start heading back when I heard him scream.

"OLIVER!" I yelled, trying to find him. His broom was hovering just out of reach of Squiddy, but he definitely wasn't on it. I couldn't see him anywhere. _Crap. Not only did I lose my Captain, I lost my crush. DANG IT._

"KATES!" He yelled back, from above me. _Above me? But he doesn't have his broom... _

"OH MY MERLIN! OLIVER!" I yelled, speeding up, to where the Squid was holding him, very, very high above the ground. Even if he hit the water, it wouldn't matter. It'd be the same as him hitting cement. Not thinking, I reached out and tickled a spot lower down on the tentacle that held him.

Of course, Squiddy instantly dropped him, and he was farther than I had thought. I knew I couldn't make it to him in time, but that didn't stop me from speeding after him, all the same. I watched as he hit the water, and sank under. If the impact didn't kill him, the depth would.

"OLIVER!" I screamed. I didn't even recognize my own voice. It sounded strangled, and insane. Like the person had just lost their reason for living. Which for all I know.. I did. I got down to a low enough altitude and dove in the water, hoping for the slim chance he would make it.

I found him easily enough, still sinking, but very slowly. I grabbed him and started kicking as fast as I could, as I was starting to run out of my air supply which meant that no matter what, Oliver was out. Once I reached the surface, I somehow managed to mutter an, "accio" and got my broom. I grabbed Oliver and sped us over to the beach.

I dumped him of and straightened him out, looking at him. _What do I do?_

"Merlin, I wish I had taken that CPR lifeguard saving lives class thing that my mum wanted me to take!" I said, trying to remember what I had heard.

"Okay, check for pulse. There's a good place to start." I laid my head down on his chest, and didn't feel anything. I pressed a couple fingers to his wrist. Still nothing. I tried his neck next. Silent.

"OH MERLIN WHAT DID I DO?!" I screamed. _Don't you have to like kiss him or something? No, not again. Not after last time. _I couldn't think. Tears started welling up in my eyes and soon I couldn't see. I buried my head in my hands.

"No.. Oliver.. Don't leave. You can't leave me. Don't take him from me." I said crying, saying the last bit to whatever thing or god in the universe was listening.

All of a sudden, I heard him cough and felt him sit up next to me. He leaned over and coughed out some more water. I looked up, not believing what had just happened. He looked at me.

"Well that was some fun, eh?" He said with a weak smile. I let out a broken laugh and hugged him, almost knocking him over.

"Not that I have a problem with this, but why so affectionate?" He asked smiling, embracing me back. I pulled back slightly, but didn't let go of him.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking in his eyes. He looked concerned all of a sudden.

"Katie! Why have you been crying?" He asked, looking around frantically.

"Oliver! You.. You just died! Right in front of me. You just died. And it was all my fault." I said. _How could he not remember this?_

"Katie.. I'm not dead. I'm right here, talking to you. Are you okay?" He asked, looking like he wanted to take me to the hospital wing or something.

"Wood, the Giant Squid dropped you. You hit the water and the impact should have killed you. And if not, you should have drowned. I pulled you out, and brought you over here. You had no pulse." He looked at me like I was crazy.

"No.. I just fell asleep. I woke up and my throat was itchy and you had been crying and hugged me." He said, and I looked at him like _he_ was crazy. Which he was.

"Why don't.. Why don't we just go to class?" I asked, standing up. He just climbed to his feet and swayed slightly. He held his head.

"Why does my head hurt so much?" He asked, looking at me. I just gave him a look.

"That.. That really did happen. Didn't it?" He asked slowly. I nodded, and turned around. I moved mechanically through everything, and next thing I knew, I was in my spot next to George in Transfiguration. I must not have looked great.

"You okay?" He asked, leaning his red head over so that he wouldn't have to talk as loud as McGonagall had just walked in.

"I think I just killed the Quidditch Nazi.." I said trailing off. He laughed.

"Ah, good joke. Seriously though, what happened?" He asked, still smiling slightly.

"No, like Oliver had no pulse. For about five minutes. And it was all my fault." I said. He looked confused, and so I explained, taking up almost the entire class. We'd have to get the notes from someone else later.

"You know what this means?" George said as we were packing up our stuff.

"What?" I asked, feeling a million times better than I had.

"NO PRACTICE TONIGHT!"


	16. All Wrong

**A/N: Hey guys, it's been a while. I'm in the middle of writing an essay for my English class, I'm blasting music up in my room, and I have been inspired. Enjoy! Sorry for the long wait, and whatnot, and let me know what you think about Katie's situation at the end! OH and points to anyone who can tell me one of the two songs that could be referenced for this chapter. Last line is one of them. And other, you'd have to know a song about "Katie".**

**Thanks to Rojjy, rhetorically yours, Blackrosesroit, Rose, and many, many others. I know I said I'd mention all of you, but I forgot to keep track! I apologize, but I love you all and if you really want mentioned then hopefully I won't forget next time. But I thought I'd just post than track down all of thou who reviewed.**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: When typing "disclaimer", my computer suggested "disappointed". Yes, I know, I'm sorry.<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 16: All Wrong<strong>

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><p>Life has been showing me the love recently. Let's recap; I kissed my Quidditch captain, the proceeded to almost kill him. I had an ice cream war, which was fun, except for the fact that I was still getting ice cream to drip out of my ears in the shower. I was tired, which made me almost insane, having laugh attacks about the stupidest things, and I was sore. Worst of all, I couldn't look at food without wanting to throw up. This is what boys do to you. Don't ever fall for their "oh I'm adorable" crap. It takes away the thing you love most. FOOD. And it makes Quidditch a hell of a lot harder. And my head feels like it got run over by a semi, but I don't remember what caused it.<p>

Surprisingly, a couple days passed without incident, and Oliver didn't suddenly drop dead, which I wasn't sure if I was happy or upset about. Days passed normally, like none of the past couple days had happened. I didn't have to worry about awkward silences around Wood. I didn't get those suggestive looks from the twins, and I didn't get hassled by the girls. It was amazing.. And I hated it.

We were sitting on the couches in the Common Room, and I was struggling through the assigned homework for once in my life. George and Leesh were talking about plans that they had for friday, Fred was throwing crumpled up papers at Angie and she was glaring at him. I sat there, tapping my pencil, reading the same paragraph I had been for about twenty minutes now. I could hear the seconds tick away because of the clock hanging on the wall. I glanced at my friends, each in their own happy little bubble. My eye twitched. It was normal, perfect. Just like I had wanted it to be. And yet everything was wrong. I wasn't happy. Everything didn't magically get better. I still felt like crap. I didn't even go get ice cream with the girls last night!

I sighed, and glanced at the clock. I didn't even care what time it was. Tick. Tick. Tick. That's all I heard. I looked out the window. Tick. Tick. Tick. I didn't even know what I wanted to happen. Tick. Tick. Tick. Something. Tick. Tick. Anything. Tick. Tick. Tick. Oliver walked down the stairs and saw all of us sitting on the couches. Tickticktickticktickticktick . Maybe it wasn't the seconds. Or maybe my heart kept time with the seconds. He came and sat down next to me, throwing an arm around me and smiling. He looked care-free, peaceful. His hair was longer and all messed up. He was wearing a cut off and shorts slung low on his hips and flip flops. He was _hot. _And yet it was all wrong.

Oliver doesn't show bodily parts other than arms, legs, and head. And he always wears tennis shoes. And keeps his hair short. And he should be fighting and arguing with me. I shouldn't be sitting here doing homework. I should be out running. Or at the very least, making fun of Wood. Although I didn't mind the part that he had his arm around me. At least he acknowledged what had happened. But it was all wrong.

Oliver started playing with my hair and he leaned over.

"Katie." He whispered in my ear. I tried to say something to him, but I couldn't. My mouth wouldn't work.

"Kates." He said, placing a kiss on my cheek. My eyes widened. _What was happening?!_ I felt my shoulder being drug back and forth, getting knocked against the back of the couch.

"Come back to me." He whispered, sounding very far away. Everything suddenly went black and I gasped, as if I hadn't been breathing for the past couple minutes. I sat straight up and stars swam before my eyes. I shook my head and looked around. I wasn't sitting on the couch in the common room, and I definitely wasn't doing my homework. My friends were all there, but they looked pretty scared out of their minds. All I know is that I hurt all over. And that my head feels like it exploded.

"Katie!" Everyone yelled, all looking relieved. I looked around and saw that I was sitting on a bed in the Hospital Wing. I blinked really slowly and the hopped off of the bed, swaying a little bit. Fred grabbed my arm and steadied me.

"Are you okay?" George asked, looking like he wanted to shove me back onto the bed. I gave him a look.

"I just had a creepy ass dream, but other than that I'm perfectly fine." I said, making my way slowly to the door.

"Where are you going?" Asked Madam Pomfery, looking almost hysterical. I glanced around and gave her a confused look.

"I'm leaving? I don't know what everyone's so worried about. Or why I'm even here. I'm perfectly fine." I said, starting to get annoyed. What was I even doing here?

"Katie, you need to go lay down." She responded, grabbing my arm, and leading me over to the bed I was in before. I sat, wearily, and waited for her to explain what the hell was going on. She sighed.

"You're so stubborn," she said, "you should listen to me, if you know what's good for you." I stared at her for about a minute and gave her a quick nod, laying down like she had said.

"What happened?" I asked. Everyone turned toward Harry, who was standing at the end of my bed. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Well it was my fault." He said, looking down at his feet. This made me even more confused.

"What day is today?" I asked.

"About a week after you almost killed Wood." George replied. I closed my eyes.

"Somebody explain why the hell my head feels like it got trampled by a hippogriff, before I stab you with a fork." I said, getting really concerned and pissed off that nobody was explaining anything.

"Okay, calm down." Alicia said. Angie nodded.

"Harry, Ron, and Hermione were lost and wandering around outside when the Slytherin team, which includes Draco Malfoy, who decided he hates them. They still had the different balls out from practice, and they were trying to figure out where the two bludgers went. Draco started in on the three and you saw and went running down the help them because the whole team had joined in. They had apparently charmed the bludgers to go after Harry, but you had told him and the other two to head along to Hagrid's hut, to get the away from those snakes. And the bludgers came and hit you instead. Multiple times. You have a concussion, and you shouldn't be able to move right now." Fred was explaining.

"I don't know what you're talking about. The last thing I remember is Quidditch tryouts. I didn't make the team. I got mad, and we looked and found out that Wood messed everything up. He takes Quidditch Nazi to the extreme. And I need to hurry up so I can get to practice. I didn't almost kill Wood, because trust me, I would remember the best day of my life." I said, slightly joking. A look of comprehension dawned on the others' faces.

"You don't remember anything, do you? Because of the concussion?" Leesh asked. I nodded slowly, because if she said I was injured, I most likely was.

"So.. All of that really happened?" I asked. They nodded solemnly.

"Well.. That explains a lot. What else did I miss in the past week and a half?" I asked, hoping it was nothing too important. I glanced at George and he looked at Fred who gave him an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

"Nothing too important." Fred said, giving George a warning look. He looked mad. I looked around, finally noting that someone was missing.

"Where is he?" I asked, a gnawing feeling trying to eat its way through my stomach. It was almost worry. Or disappointment. Anxiety, maybe? I didn't care though. He wasn't here. That was enough to make me feel bad.

"He who?" George asked, trying to play it dumb. I rolled my eyes, getting more uptight.

"Wood! He should be here!" I said, getting upset. I looked around frantically. The others bit their lips, or looked down at the floor, or some other sign that usually came before bad news. They were just worried that I was getting upset again, that was it.

"Katie, we've all got to go to class now." Angie said, grabbing her stuff and everyone followed. George hung around, sitting down in a chair next to my bed. I looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Free period." He explained. I nodded.

"Katie.. You really don't remember anything? Like a day on the beach with Lee and I? Or Alicia and I breaking up and getting back together? Or.. A kiss?" He asked hesitantly. I shook my head.

"It all happened though, didn't it? And you want to tell me all about it, and Fred doesn't want you to, for whatever reason. That's what those looks were." I said, hoping that I was right. He nodded his head.

"They didn't want to overwhelm you, but you were kind of that way before it all happened anyway." He said. That didn't really make me feel much better.

"Why?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Did I really kiss someone?" I asked. He stared at the ground and didn't answer.

"I'll take that as a yes then." I said, nodding. I didn't want to know who. I didn't remember it, so they should just forget about it.

"George.. Where is he?" I asked again. He sighed.

"It's not that important, is it?" He said, playing with my fingers. I nodded, the sinking feeling in my stomach getting worse. And it wasn't just because I was hungry.

"Yes it is." I said, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.

"Last year, when I was in here for getting hit off of my broom by Flint, he promised he would always be here for me. He always comes and sees me.. _Always._" I said, trying not to let it get to me. I felt like a little kid again, when you would get disappointed that your dad wouldn't teach you how to ride a bike, or take you to an amusement park. It may have been for stupid little things, but those are the things that mean the most to you. I felt ashamed as my lip started quivering. I _couldn't_ be crying because of him.

"I mean, I'm mean to him all the time. I love messing with him, and it's amazing those few times when I can make him blush. I hate him though. For all of the bleacher sprints, and hill sprints, and broken bones, and hospital trips. For all those times he made it feel like it was my fault that we lost a game, and all those times that I had to stop him from drowning himself in the showers after we lost. For all the times he made me feel like I didn't deserve my spot on the team. But honestly, I really like it when he's around. And when he's not around, it feels all wrong." I said, feeling even worse as I tried to explain it. He nodded, knowing exactly what I was trying to say. Horrified, I could feel a couple tears slip down my cheeks. I wiped them away quickly and he didn't say anything.

I held George's hand, needing some support for the waves of emotion that were trying to knock me over. I suddenly felt really tired and laid my head down on the pillow. Just as I let myself drift into unconsciousness, I pieced together one more sentence. The one that explained why I felt even worse than when I had first woke up.

"He said he'd be here."


End file.
